On Dogs And People
by vladimira-chan
Summary: Inuzuka Kiba knows a lot about dogs and not much about people. Thankfully, they have some similarities, and his very shy co-worker, classmate and former best friend can help sort life out...hopefully. Too bad she's got issues of her own. KibaHina AU.
1. The Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic

**A/N: Out of boredom and a weird feeling that I'm losing my ability to write het, coupled with the fact that I want to write a multichapter, comes _this_. And yeah, it's a high school fic, sort of...and a little bit angsty...nyah. It's fun for me to write.**

**Disclaimer: Everyone in this belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, except for maybe the random fangirls. Actually, probably them, too...**

Hyuga Hinata absentmindedly copied down whatever Iruka-sensei wrote on the board—something about cell structure and mitochondria that she didn't process at all. Hinata made a mental note to study over the weekend—her dad would kill her if she didn't ace biology. Stifling a yawn, she shot a furtive glance at the clock, pleased to see that only a few minutes of class remained. Deciding to take a chance, she let her eyes wander to the boy that continuously attracted her gaze—a spiky-haired blonde, who leaned back in his chair, blatantly bored, with his fingers laced behind his head, exuding cheerful nonchalance.

Some boy—his name was Chouji, she recalled—munched on a bag of chips, the only barrier between the Hyuga and her soulmate. Hinata blushed again—she could sound so dramatic in her thoughts!

Uzumaki Naruto turned around, probably to complain to Chouji about the noise, and Hinata looked down, face burning. She hoped her long dark hair would be enough to disguise it. Managing to fight the flush down, she turned to check the clock once more and suppressed a relieved sigh. Within moments, the bell rang and the class gratefully leapt up, grabbing their things and racing out of the classroom. Two girls, one blonde and one with light pink hair, stood waiting by the door. Haruno Sakura grinned and giggled as she beckoned Hinata closer.

"Hinata-chan, Naruto was _so_ staring at you today!"

Shocked, Hinata darted her eyes around the classroom, praying that the Uzumaki was out of earshot. However, Sakura, a trained gossip, knew her job well, and the boy seemed oblivious as he loped easily over to the three girls.

Panic flooded Hinata's senses as he came closer. The blonde grinned at Sakura, who glared at him coolly.

"Sakura-chan, d'you want to have ramen with me today?"

Sakura playfully punched his arm. "I'd rather stick my finger in a mechanical pencil sharpener. Oh, hi, Sasuke-kun!" She shot a meaningful glance at Ino as the two girls pounced on the ill-tempered Uchiha. Hinata smiled up at Naruto. "H-hi, N-Naruto-kun."

"Hi, Hinata," Naruto said casually. It was only a moment before Uchiha Sasuke shook off the two fangirls, though, and headed over to the door. Naruto grinned again at Hinata before scowling at the other boy and following. "See you Monday, Hinata-san. Say hi to Neji for me."

Sakura and Ino broke off their excited conversation about Sasuke's new haircut to forcefully question Hinata about the events of the past few seconds. The Hyuga blushed as she walked down the hall to the exit, tuning out of her friends' analyses. She muttered a farewell to the duo before walking over to where her cousin, Hyuga Neji, stood by his black sports car, chatting with a brunette in his grade. Catching sight of Hinata, Neji unlocked the car and began to head over to the driver's seat. Hinata smiled and opened the passenger door, dumping her bookbag in the back seat with the long-haired boy's junk.

Neji seemed to be in an oddly good mood today as he stuck his keys into the ignition and the car roared to life. Adjusting the gear shift, he turned to his cousin politely.

"So, Hinata-sama, how did your day go?"

Hinata shrugged, her voice quiet as ever. "Fine. I got an A on the math test, but biology was boring."

Neji smirked; Hinata braced herself for the taunts her chauffer delighted in.

"Oh, I didn't think you found biology _boring_."

Hinata gritted her teeth. Oh, how she hated Neji.

"I mean, even if you don't like the subject matter, there are plenty of _distractions_." He chuckled as his passenger turned red and, deciding to end the torture early, clicked on the radio to a news station and maintained silence for the rest of the ride to the Hyuga house.

To call the residence a house was a gross understatement; it was a manor, if not a small town. The man standing guard by the garage nodded to Hinata before allowing the sports car into three floors of parking decks. Neji took his usual spot, near the entrance to his hallway, and opened the back doors to retrieve his school bags. Hinata did the same before taking the elevator to the fourth floor and throwing her items onto her bed. To her annoyance, her younger sister Hanabi was standing there, looking as cute and innocent as ever.

"What do you want, Hanabi?"

"Otou-san wants to see you in the office, onesan."

Hinata pulled off her school uniform, changing into her usual lilac jacket and knee-length blue pants. Tying her hair up, she walked out of her room, heading to a pair of imposing wood doors. Suddenly nervous, Hinata faltered before knocking. Hiashi Hyuga was not known to call his daughters while he was working. Quickly, Hinata turned over the day's events in her mind, wondering what could have gone wrong.

The double doors swung open in front of her, displaying the head of the Hyuga family in all his fearsome glory. Hinata tried not to faint—Hiashi was her father; whatever he would be saying could only be in her best interests.

"Hinata-chan, come in," he said pleasantly. Hiashi's daughter let out the breath she'd been holding and entered apprehensively.

"Kurenai-sensei saw me at the market today," he began. Hinata looked down at her hands, which began to twitch with fear.

"She said that, since you are now sixteen, it would probably be best if you took on a job."

Hinata managed to keep her jaw from dropping open. She looked up at her father, who seemed as collected as ever. "W-what kind of j-job?"

Hiashi shrugged. "Working at the market, or the movie theater, or a shop," he said off-handedly. "Actually, Hinata-chan, she told me that you like animals."

The heiress blushed. Most people _liked_ animals, but from Hiashi it sounded like something between shameful and amusing. He didn't seem to notice, however, and continued.

"Kurenai-sensei happened to mention a woman that she knows who runs a veterinary clinic and animal shelter. Do you know anyone with the surname Inuzuka?"

Hinata found herself slightly surprised that her father didn't remember Inuzuka Kiba. The two of them had been inseparable for the first few years after they had started school—however, Hiashi hadn't paid much attention to who her friends were, at least in her prepubescent days. The woman Hiashi mentioned would probably be Kiba's mother—or maybe his sister. Hinata wasn't sure.

"Um…m-maybe," she finally finished. Hiashi nodded. "Yes, well, I made some calls today"—Hinata winced, Hiashi was not known for his social skills—"And the young lady's name is Inuzuka Hana. She will be expecting you to arrive by eight o'clock in the morning tomorrow and on every Saturday for as long as school remains in session. Understood?"

Hinata supposed that she should be grateful for not having to face an interview, although she dreaded Hana's perception of her. Another Hyuga brat—not that Neji wasn't well liked, although he had a side reputation as a royal prick.

She stood up and bowed to Hiashi before leaving the room and passing out on the bed.

* * *

The place was still locked when Hinata arrived—at seven forty-five, incidentally. Hiashi believed in something about "never letting others decided when you should arrive" and Neji kept on reminding her not to "rush destiny", but she was nervous and had nothing better to do. Ino and Sakura would be out chasing Uchiha Sasuke, wherever he happened to be; Shino, who rarely met her outside of school anyway, was off on some trip to the local insect museum. And Naruto…never spent weekends with her anyway. She bit her lip, sighing.

If only to reassure herself, Hinata stepped back to once more validate the large sign that read "Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic and Animal Shelter". She jumped as a boy's voice, vaguely familiar, sounded in her ear.

"Yup, the sign's still here."

Hinata blushed and turned to see a spiky-haired brunette grinning at her. Twin trails of red ran down his face; an enormous white dog that looked like a cross between a St. Bernard and a mop stood at his heels. The dog leapt onto her, nearly knocking her over before the boy pulled him down and scolded him playfully.

He held out a hand. "Hey, it's Inuzuka Kiba. You're the new girl, right?"

Hinata blushed once more and stuttered. "Y-yeah. H-Hyuga H-Hinata."

Kiba stepped back and stared. "Whoa. _Hyuga_ Hinata? No wonder the guy who called sounded like he had something shoved up his—" He trailed off, grinning even more widely than before. "Heh. Anyway…this is Akamaru. He likes you."

Hinata didn't have to stoop to pet the enormous dog on his head. She smiled slightly. "H-he's grown."

"Yeah, he used to be small enough to ride along—"

"On top of your head." The Hyuga giggled, unsure of what she found so disarming about the boy.

"Yeah." Kiba seemed thoughtful for a moment, before reaching out to smack the girl lightly on the side of her arm. "Ne, you're Nana-chan! Why didn't you say so?"

"N-Nana-chan? Oh!" The blood rushed to Hinata's face as she remembered Kiba's affectionate nickname for her. "Y-yeah."

"Quit hitting on every girl that walks near here, otouto!"

Akamaru barked and rushed over to the tall woman who emerged from the front of a loaded pickup truck. She looked to be in her twenties; her eyes had the same slitted canine look as Kiba, and the markings on her face matched his. She wore a wide-collared beige jacket and faded torn-up jeans. Inuzuka Hana looked fierce, in a pretty kind of way; her eyes immediately softened at the sight of her younger brother's pet.

"Hey, Akamaru. So, Kiba, you've met our newest worker?"

Kiba threw his arm recklessly around Hinata's shoulders. "Oh, yeah, we've been best friends since kindergarten, ne, Nana-chan?"

Hana snorted. "Sure, Kiba. Quit it, will you? Look at her. She's as red as one of Uchiha's tomatoes!"

Kiba slipped his hand off and stuck his tongue out at his sister. "Whatever. Did you forget the keys again?"

The woman produced them from her jacked and glared at her younger brother before opening the main door. Stepping in, she stuck her head out before turning the sign to read "open".

"Hey, can you two run an errand for me? Tenten and Lee are going to be here any minute anyway, so run down to Kakashi-san's and pick up Pakkun. The bastard could never be on time for his appointment." Shaking her head, she threw her car keys at Kiba, who caught them deftly.

"W-who are L-Lee and T-Tenten?"

Kiba turned to look at Hinata before clambering into the driver's side of the pickup and making sure that Akamaru wasn't about to follow the car. "You don't know them? They're in the same grade as—what's-his-name—Neji. Tenten's obsessed with Chinese stuff, and Lee's the kid who dresses like Gai-sensei, remember?"

"Oh…yeah." Hinata tried to stifle a laugh. Rock Lee was nice, but extremely hyper and prone to jumping around professing his love for Sakura.

"Anyway, Lee annoys the heck out of me, and Tenten's got the school's third biggest superiority complex," he said with a smirk. "Actually, she's not that bad. Neji's probably just rubbing off on her."

Hinata giggled, pulling herself up to the seat and shutting the rather heavy door. "Y-yeah. I know w-what you mean. It's a H-Hyuga thing."

"Yeah, I can see that you have a huge opinion of yourself," Kiba added. After a pause, he inserted the keys roughly and pushed down the accelerator.

"Hope you don't mind the jerkiness. I suck at driving; barely have my permit. Technically I'm not supposed to be doing this, but what the heck?" He leaned back and continued to speed down the—fortunately—deserted road. "I'll just blame it on Hana."

"A-are we really v-visiting K-Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata bit her lip. She wasn't too comfortable with meeting teachers out of school—Kurenai-sensei was an exception—although the rather aloof man probably wouldn't care.

"Yeah, the masked pervert. Hey, did you know there's a bet going on about whom he's with? I've got my money on Anko-san, although Iruka-sensei's got the most bidders." He laughed loudly; Hinata realized that it was a pleasant sound—jarring, but comforting nonetheless, however he managed to pull that off. Kind of like Naruto's, but different. She couldn't help but contributed a weak giggle of her own.

"Y-yeah. H-he might have s-something on w-with Gai-sensei, too."

"I know, yeah? Those two are like Uzumaki and Uchiha: one of them's an idiot and the other one just kind of sits around. Although Kakashi-sensei's way better than Uchiha, and Gai-sensei's not as stupid as Uzumaki." He laughed again. "Hey, I can just see Uzumaki in a green suit, ne?"

Hinata didn't know why, but she cracked up. Leaning forward against her seat belt, she began to laugh loudly, unable to stop the ache in her ribs: the image was just too funny. Not to mention that the spandex would go nicely around Naruto-kun's muscles…

Kiba laughed along with her, biting his lip. For a moment, he rested on the steering wheel, observing Hinata. He remembered her, although not very well. She was more shy then, if that was possible, and her hair had been short, although the way she laughed hadn't changed.

Hinata turned red again as she caught Kiba watching her and immediately sat up in her seat. "S-sorry."

"Nah," he said off-handedly, pulling up into the parking lot of an apartment complex and yanking out the keys. The pickup was parked haphazardly, taking up a good two parking spots, but he ignored it. Hinata seemed to notice but didn't mention it.

Kiba locked the doors and began jogging lightly to a door on the first floor. He rang the bell three times impatiently and leaned against the doorframe as Hinata apparently tried to hide in a corner.

After nearly four minutes, a silver-haired man in a green vest and black mask answered. Hatake Kakashi was holding his little orange book as always, but peered over it with his good eye.

"Isn't it early for my appointment?"

Kiba scowled. "Shut it, pervert-sensei. We're here to pick up Pakkun so he doesn't die of your negligent laziness."

Kakashi chuckled and stepped aside. Kiba sniffed in a canine fashion and bent down to pick up the pug-like dog that bounded over to him. "Hey, Pakkun. So Kakashi hasn't burnt your eyes out with his novels yet?" He set the dog down and headed for the exit; it followed happily. Kakashi shook his head and closed the door.

"D-dogs like you," Hinata murmured quietly. Kiba grinned. "Yeah, but I guess it comes from being around them my whole life. I understand them, you know?" He paused for a moment. "You have any pets?"

"N-no…and I g-guess that's why I d-don't understand m-much of anything."

Kiba shook his head, hair flying. "You understand a lot of stuff. Like people."

"N-no one c-can understand p-people," she answered. "I'm j-just another r-rich teenage g-girl."

"Who's different from everyone else," Kiba corrected. "People are hard to understand, but deep down they're a lot like dogs."

"R-really."

"Yeah. They pee on bushes and drink from the toilet."

Hinata laughed softly, covering her mouth with her hand, and noticed that she'd followed the boy to where the pickup was parked. Pulling open the door, she crawled in; Kiba turned to her and waved the keys. "Can you drive?"

"S-sort of."

"Good; I'll ride in the back so Pakkun can have the passenger seat."

"I c-can ride b-back there."

"Right. Because your dad isn't likely to sue me if anything happens to you." He grinned and disappeared behind the seat, pushing the driver's side door closed. The Hyuga tried to coax the keys in as Kiba put on Pakkun's doggy safety belt and disabled the airbag. Hinata turned around to see the teenager lounging in the bed of the truck and giving her a thumbs-up. Biting her lip, Hinata adjusted the gearshift and pressed down the accelerator. The pickup groaned and halfheartedly backed out of the parking lot. Leaning down in her seat, Hinata pushed onto the accelerator with more force, twisted the protesting steering wheel, and chugged out of the parking lot. It took twice the amount of time arriving had, but, eventually, the truck was safely parked at the clinic.

"I'm s-sorry I t-took so l-long…" Hinata was red and tapping her index fingers together. Kiba shrugged. "Least turbulent ride I've taken in a while. Hana's deadly. Hey, onesan, we're back!"

A narrow-eyed boy in a green vest and black pants leaned out the door, absentmindedly ruffling his spiky black ponytail. "Inuzuka-san says to bring Pakkun to the examination room."

"Shikamaru? Didn't you get fired?"

The boy shrugged. "She let me back after I reassembled her hard drive for her."

"The hard drive—never mind." Kiba sighed, removing Pakkun's seat belt and placing him on the ground. Hinata locked the pickup after several failed attempts and trailed slightly behind the boy and Kakashi's dog. Shikamaru yawned and shut the door as the two employees entered; a brunette with hair in two buns looked up.

"Hi, Hinata-chan."

"H-hello, T-Tenten-san," Hinata answered nervously. The girl smirked. "So you're the one who's in love with Uzumaki Naruto."

Hinata felt herself grow red as Tenten smiled and patted her on the back. Lee, who came up behind her, flashed a blinding girn. "Hello, oh youthful friend of my true love Sakura-san."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and muttered about troublesome people. "Don't mind those two."

"It's okay, Hinata," Tenten said. "Lots of people love Naruto-kun."

"Like Neji," Kiba cut in coldly. "It's one heck of a love triangle, isn't it?"

Tenten glared at Kiba. "Hana-san's waiting for that dog."

**Review?**


	2. Required Social Events

**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

**A/N: It's funnier than the last one, but pretty dialogue-heavy. Meh.**

**Warning: Nothing new, really.**

* * *

"Hinata-chan!"

Hinata turned and began to walk towards Sakura, who was motioning for her to come over to where the latter stood in front of a large poster. Trying to avoid the crowd, she flattened herself against the wall. Sakura seemed excited, as usual. She poked the poster with the enthusiasm of someone in a commercial and grabbed Hinata's shoulders.

"Read it!"

"I did…"

Sakura stooped so that she had to lean her neck upwards to face her friend. "Spring_ Dance_. _Girls' _choice. _Required_, Hinata-chan!"

Konoha Senior High was probably the only school which held required social events; something about assimilation and dealing with real-life situations. However, as Tenten had vigorously explained to Hinata on Saturday, Tsunade-sama had weird friends who enjoyed watching teenage drama. Hinata didn't know anyone who'd ever spoken to these friends, but apparently one wrote Kakashi-sensei's perverted "romance" novels, and the other wasn't allowed within two hundred feet of a school.

"Are you going to ask him?"

Hinata felt vaguely grateful that she didn't have to dwell on that topic; instead, she looked down and murmured, "Ask who?"

"I don't know; maybe the guy you've had a crush on for _three years_?" Sakura refused to be put off by her classmate's attitude. "C'mon, Hinata-chan! It's required, and it's not like he's going to go with anyone else!"

"Have you asked Sasuke-kun yet?" Changing the subject was a good escape tactic.

"Yes, along with half the people in this school, and along with half the people in this school, I was rejected."

"I'm sorry."

"I'll just cave in to Lee. Or, if things get desperate, I'll go with Ino." Sakura smirked, standing at her complete height again and catching a bright blonde head of hair bobbing through the crowd. "Naruto's coming over here, Hinata…" She rolled her eyes as she watched the pale-eyed girl squirm through the crowd in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Was that Hinata-chan running? Why was she so red?"

Sakura grinned, momentarily defeated. "I don't know."

* * *

"Kiba, seriously—quit tapping!"

The brunette shot a murderous glance at his peeved sister, who had donned reading glasses and was staring at a huge pile of paperwork. Pulling off her eyewear, Hana massaged her temples. "Okay, whatever. What do you want, Kiba? The math getting to you again?"

"No."

"English?"

"No."

"Science?"

"No."

"Japanese? World History? A girl? What?"

"Sort of." He tossed a disgustingly pink sheet of paper at the woman. "Stupid school dances. Stupid perverted friends of my principal."

Hana grinned down at the sheet. "Required dances, ne? I remember those." She laughed. "One time I was so desperate I bribed _Uchiha Itachi_."

Kiba's eyes widened, but his face fell once more as he read over the sheet. "I mean, seriously! It's girls' choice, meaning that if some girl doesn't fall on her head I get failed…"

"I could threaten Tenten."

"Ew! I don't need Neji-san murdering me in my sleep, thanks."

Hana smirked. "I bet if you asked Hinata nicely, she'd go with you."

"I'm not going to guilt Hinata into going to some stupid dance with me, Hana."

The woman shook her head, glancing over at the paperwork and then at the pink notice. She seemed undecided for a fraction of a second, then dropped her pen and turned back to her younger brother.

"The blonde girl…Yamanaka Ino?"

Kiba chuckled. "I barely know her. And don't even ask about Haruno Sakura."

"How about the other blonde? She seemed nice."

"Temari-san's _nineteen_, Hana. She doesn't even go here anymore. I don't think she ever did."

Hana shrugged. "Hey, there are plenty of girls at your school. You're a good-looking guy. _Someone's_ bound to ask you. Take my advice—go for the one that pays up front."

"I don't want to know if you meant that literally, Hana." Kiba sighed, lying down on the couch and pulling out a notebook. "Wake me up if I fall asleep, okay?"

"Yeah, right."

* * *

"Have you asked Naruto-kun yet?"

Hinata bit back a groan as Neji turned away from the road to smirk at her. His lavender eyes were glowing with anticipation; Hinata didn't understand why he found torturing her so much fun.

"How many fangirls have you turned down already, Neji nii-san?"

"Forty-six and counting, although I have a feeling that I've ended up being Uchiha's rebound." He sounded completely serious; Hinata tried not to laugh.

"Otou-san can get me out of it."

"You never ask Hiashi-sama for favors. As much as he hates boys, he wants you to have a good, well-rounded upbringing." Only the tug at the corners of Neji's lips gave away the pleasure he was gaining from this analysis. Hinata huffed quietly and stared out the window, fiddling with the collar of her uniform, lost in thought.

_Sakura-chan has a point—Naruto-kun wouldn't go with someone he didn't know, and I'm the only one out of those who'd ask him. But…he could still turn me down, and he'd know, and then everything would be awkward…_

A soft sigh escaped Hinata's lips at her pitifully shallow dilemma.

* * *

"Sakura-chan thinks I should ask him…"

Yamanaka Ino chewed on the tip of her pencil, ear glued to her home phone, and chuckled. "Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong with that girl."

"S-so you think I shouldn't?" Hinata sounded somewhere between distressed and hopeful.

Ino sighed. "Look, Hinata, I guess Sakura knows Naruto-kun better, so it's totally your choice which way you want to go. I'm saying that there is a chance that Naruto-kun likes you, and he's just too much of an idiot to realize you like him back. But if there's one thing that kid sucks at, it's hiding his feelings."

"A-are you saying h-he doesn't like m-me?"

"Honey, chill." Ino pulled out a box of lip gloss and began to apply it, eyes straying briefly to her completed homework assignment. "My suggestion is that you make him jealous, somehow."

"W-what?" Hinata seemed horrified, although the blonde had been her friend long enough to know that the Hyuga understood the plan perfectly.

"Go with another guy. Don't go all out, you know—just for the heck of not failing the semester. It's just a small trigger. Maybe he'll realize his feelings for you; who knows? You could always tell him—he wouldn't openly reject you—but you'd end up with a talk from him about how he doesn't think of you that way, if you're unlucky. If his IQ was a bit higher, I'd go Sakura's way, but this seems more appropriate."

"W-who should I ask?" Ino was surprised; she hadn't expected to win this easily, since usually Hinata didn't believe in circumlocution. Naruto must be clouding her judgment.

"You're actually pretty well-liked, Hinata-chan; loads of guys would go with you. If you want to go with someone you know, stick with Shino. Naruto hates him." She giggled at the thought of a confrontation between the two boys.

"I…I'll think about it."

"Good girl. And if you ever need anything, I'm on call, okay? And if you can't reach a phone, go to Neji-san."

On the other side of the line, Hinata blushed at the thought of consulting Neji about her personal life. He'd never let her live it up—and Tenten would make her job miserable.

"Bye, Ino-chan." Sighing, Hinata hung up the phone.

* * *

Kiba tried his lock combination for the third time, sniffing with satisfaction as it finally fell open. Chouji walked by, sighing at the pile of letters at the Inuzuka's feet.

"Love letters, huh? Some guys have all the luck."

Kiba picked up the tattered envelopes, chuckling. "I'll never be able to look some of these girls in the eye again. Seriously, I've never even _seen_ half of them. What crazy idiot's idea was it to make it girls' choice?"

"Beats me," Chouji said with a shrug, producing yet another bag of chips. "I'm going to end up going with Ino, if Shikamaru doesn't get her first—though he probably doesn't care enough about his grades to go at all. Asuma-sensei would probably plead him out, anyway," he added, laughing.

"Wonder what poor girl has to suffer Uchiha…"

Chouji chuckled. "He's turned them all down, you know. His pride is worth more than his grades on this one."

"Did you know that my sister went with Sasuke-kun's brother once?"

The Akimichi nearly choked on a potato chip and leaned down over Kiba. "Maybe it's an omen…"

Kiba flicked him sourly and stuffed the letters in his locker, picking up some schoolbooks and shutting the door in time to hear the bell ring. He ran across the hall to math, where he caught sight of a short blonde entering the room.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, what's up?"

"Kiba?" The boy seemed slightly surprised, then grinned. "Nothing."

"Are you going to the dance with anyone?" _Oh, subtle, Kiba. At least he's too dumb to read into it._

"No," Naruto answered, moving his face closer to Kiba's. "Why? You have something to ask me?"

The Inuzuka snorted and pushed the blonde's face away, walking into the classroom. His eyes connected with Hinata's, who waved and then shifted her eyes, almost involuntarily, to Naruto. Kiba felt disappointed, although he wasn't sure why.

* * *

"One-san, otou-san wants to see you!" Hanabi pranced by, almost sickeningly cheerful, but Hinata could swear she looked smug. Although two calls to Hiashi could never be a good omen…

Sighing, Hinata stood up from her desk, briefly scanning her last history question and formulating the answer in her mind as she walked. To her mild surprise, she saw Neji and Hanabi emerging from the former's room; Neji's extreme impassivity could only mean that he'd been summoned to the Hyuga head's office as well.

"Hinata-sama, good to see you," he muttered with a stiff nod. Hinata muttered her own greeting nervously, taking several steps ahead of her cousin and knocking on the door. If there was anything sixteen years of life in the Hyuga mansion had taught her, it was that Hiashi did not like it when he perceived his daughters being upstaged by Neji.

"Hinata-chan, Neji-kun, come in." Hiashi beckoned the two Hyugas into the room, motioning for them to sit in a pair of rather formal chairs usually reserved for clients, before settling himself formally into the executive swivel chair behind his neat but crowded desk.

"First of all, Hinata-chan, after an encounter with Uchiha-san today, who informed me that his younger brother is working weekdays as well, I had your shift extended to include Tuesdays and Thursdays. This will not be a problem.

"Secondly, it has come to my attention that your secondary school is hosting a dance." Hinata noticed that Neji gulped, although it seemed he tried to be inconspicuous.

"You will both attend. Neji-kun, do you have a date?"

"Yes, Hiashi-sama." He seemed slightly peeved when Hiashi seemed to ignore him and instead glared at Hinata.

"What about you, Hinata-chan?"

"Uh—I don't h-have one y-yet, otou-san, b-but I have the r-rest of the w-week to decide…"

"Find a boy I approve of, or I'll take Uchiha-san up on his offer of punishing both our wards by making them go together. Understood?"

"Y-yes, otou-san." Hinata giggled weakly on the inside, wondering how many wounds she'd have if anyone caught her at the school dance with Sasuke.

"Dismissed."

* * *

"It's the Inuzuka house."

Hinata froze, hearing a vaguely familiar voice on the other side of line—if she remembered properly, Kiba's mother.

"Hello? Anyone?" Tsume sounded somewhere between weary and impatient. Swallowing her fear, Hinata answered.

"H-hello. S-sorry for b-bothering you s-so late…it's H-Hyuga H-Hinata. M-may I s-speak to K-Kiba-kun?"

A few seconds and a shout of "Kiba! It's some girl!" later, a cheerful voice greeted her.

"Nana-chan?"

"H-hey, K-Kiba-kun. I-I wanted t-to ask you s-something…"

"If you're going to ask me to the dance because Hana blackmailed you, I accept and apologize for her."

"W-what?"

"Never mind."

"W-well…I w-was a-asking y-you t-to the d-dance. B-but if y-you're g-going w-with s-someone else t-then y-you c-can, or if y-you don't w-want to…"

"I'll go."

"Oh. O-okay. T-thanks."

"Bye, Nana-chan."

"B-bye."

As she hung up, a cold feeling crept into Hinata's stomach, as if she'd just made the biggest mistake of her high school career.

* * *

**That felt like a filler. I mean, the plot went ahead some...but it was pretty slow. tt**

**Review? I promise it'll get better. Sorry about the numerous scene changes.**


	3. The Water Bill Is Going Up

**A/N: I'm sorry, this was a while coming! Well, longer than the last one. Pfft. School started, so I have an excuse...anyway, enjoy, because a lot happens in here. Cameo by the lovely and incredibly hot Itachi! Okay, you can kill me how.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Kiba grinned at the Hyuga, holding a small puppy. "Hey, Nana-chan!"

"H-hi, Kiba-kun."

Kiba placed the puppy down on the desk where Hinata was filling in for the absent clerk. "One-san wants us to bathe the dogs at the shelter out back."

"B-but the front d-desk—"

"I'm on it," Tenten said with a grin, walking through the service entry, drying her hands from whatever her last task had been. From the knowing grin on her face, Hinata was sure that Neji had overheard last night's phone call and mentioned it to his brunette friend. Some days she just wanted to wring her cousin's neck.

"So, are you coming?" Kiba gave her a lopsided grin, and Hinata nodded.

"You seem nervous," the Inuzuka observed, watching her stiffen. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I've n-never b-bathed a d-dog before, t-that's all. Or a-anything, e-except m-myself. Or m-maybe H-Hanabi when s-she was a b-baby." Feeling flustered, Hinata fought down the very guilty blush on her face. She'd thought she could disguise her feelings, but the only reason she'd ever pulled it off was because most people were too busy to care. Kiba noticed, but seemed to write it off.

"Well, it's not that hard. We have dog-safe shampoo, but the bubbles can still get to them…and you're going to get wet, that's for sure." He ran his eyes down her, taking in her lilac jacket and sweatpants. "Those might not make it."

"It's okay," Hinata muttered quietly, but slipped off her jacket anyway. She didn't realize that she was wearing a white T-shirt until she caught Kiba smirking and blushed. _He was going to think she was taking the dance seriously, which meant they'd start dating, which meant that if she ever found out Naruto liked her back, she'd be forced to break up with him…_

Silently, Hinata cursed her judgment.

"You been hanging out with Uchiha?"

"W-what?"

"You're getting broody."

"Oh. Sorry. I live with Neji, you know."

Kiba laughed, shoving her gently. "There. You're back." He returned her smile and opened the door to a room that could have been the kitchen, had there been appliances along with the large sink, which looked to have the dimensions of the deep-fryer Hiashi kept in the basement. On one side was an ordinary tap, and on the other was a spray nozzle which seemed more like that of a shower. Kiba grabbed a few bottles, which Hinata assumed were filled with canine hair care products, and placed the dog in the metal tub.

"Nana-chan, turn on the nozzle and rinse her over." Kiba held the puppy gently as his partner pressed the button on the showerhead and cautiously ran water across the animal. The taller of the two scratched the dog behind her ears and ordered Hinata to pour out some shampoo and work it into a lather.

The Hyuga rubbed the liquid gently onto the dog, hands moving gracefully and rhythmically. She didn't realize that Kiba was helping her until she felt his calloused hands brush hers. To her shock, she didn't blush; there was only a warm, liquid sensation spreading from her stomach to her toes to her face. She grinned, and Kiba smirked.

"You _like _it,"

"N-no I don't."

"Aww, don't be shy, Nana-chan. There's not a lot of girls who can stay composed in my presence."

"Jerk," she said, unable to hide the smile that her voice betrayed. Kiba picked up the dog, which barked before shaking itself thoroughly, covering both of them in soapy foam.

"_Kiba-kun!_ You did it on purpose!"

"What the heck? How could I get a _dog_ to do that?"

"I don't know," Hinata bantered back lamely, before wrenching the nozzle from its stand and turning it full-force onto the Inuzuka, who yelped in surprise before wresting it out of her hands. Hinata tried to escape, but the water caught her, soaking her thoroughly. The Hyuga laughed uncontrollably, hands half-heartedly raised to protect her face. She ran at Kiba, shoving him playfully onto the sink and grabbing the out-of-control showerhead, which resulted in it erupting onto her face. Hair sopping wet and coming undone, the nozzle shook in her hands to the rhythm of her giggles.

Before she understood what was happening, Kiba's larger hands enveloped hers and she instinctively raised them, the deactivated nozzle falling to the ground. Her head drifted back and the last thing she saw were Kiba's beautiful feral eyes glowing before his lips touched hers and she gave in to the sensation.

They were chapped, but that knowledge was in some dark corner of her mind, because all she could feel was her own mouth burning with his warmth, and her breath hitching in her throat. She straightened up, seeking more of him, still shy and unsure, until she needed air so desperately that the world began to spin and they broke away, gasping.

She expected the blush to come roaring to her, full force, and so it did. Feeling lightheaded, she looked away from him, picking up the nozzle and focusing on the dog in front of her, which had begun to bark with excitement.

"W-we need to finish this," she murmured breathlessly, and became even redder. "I-I mean, we need to f-finish b-bathing the d-dog."

Kiba nodded wordlessly, grabbing a mop to dry the floor, and they completed their task in silence.

* * *

"What the heck did you two do?" Hana stared at her employees with amusement. Hinata shivered slightly and Kiba shook himself like the dog at his heels. Hana sighed, supposing that she'd be better off not knowing, and motioned to the bathrooms in a corner. "Those are employee-only. They've got towels…Kiba, you have some clothes in your locker; Hinata, you can borrow some of Tenten's. She won't mind—well, she will, but she doesn't have a choice."

"I-I'm fine…"

"You want to go home trailing water everywhere?" Hana looked up to see a brunette walking through her door. "Tenten, get her some of your clothes."

"What? Ugh, sure. Hana-san, there's a man out there who's not on your roster. He says he should be let in…but he doesn't have an animal. Unless you count his brother."

The eldest Inuzuka rolled her eyes and opened the door, calling out to the man outside. "Uchiha Itachi, stop being a prick."

A dark-eyed man Hana's age with two lines down his face and hair in a sleek low ponytail smiled pleasantly; Sasuke stood next to him, every bit as stunning, and scowled. Hana glared but motioned both to come inside, picking up the phone casually as it rang.

"Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic and Animal Shelter. Oh, Hyuga-sama." She covered the phone with one hand, rolled her eyes, and muttered, "One second."

"Yes, yes, Hinata-san is doing well. She gave me the forms. Yes, yes. Really? No, I don't mind. My brother—oh. Well, that's…fine." Silently she gagged and rolled her eyes. "Have a good evening to you, too. Bye."

Itachi's smile grew into a smirk as Hana grumbled, distracted only by a wet sneeze coming from the bathroom Hinata was changing in.

"He said Neji-kun's occupied, so he sent _you two_ to pick up Hinata." Hana cursed randomly and flashed an exasperated scowl at Itachi. "Enjoy yourselves."

The Hyuga emerged, considerably drier, from the bathroom, dressed in a yellow shirt with two pandas and some black Chinese characters on it, and denim shorts. In one hand she held a bag containing her soaked clothing; she placed it on the desk in order to tie her jacket around her waist. Kiba, who had come out a few minutes earlier, growled at nothing in particular as Hana explained the arrangements. Hinata smiled shyly and muttered farewells to the other employees; Sasuke shot her a glare as she headed for the parking lot.

Itachi's silver sedan looked rather plain for his social status, but Hinata didn't complain. The passenger seat was piled high with something or the other, so she and Sasuke sat on opposite sides of the back. The younger Uchiha mostly ignored her; acknowledging his classmate only by the occasional random glance. They were mostly death glares, coupled with a few scrutinizing looks. Finally, he sniffed with a distinct air of superiority and turned back to his window, snorting at the Hyuga mansion as it appeared around the corner. Itachi parked on the first level, silently forcing Sasuke to escort Hinata from her side of the car; he rang the doorbell.

A few minutes later, Hanabi answered, dressed in a frilly pink frock and smiling sweetly. Suddenly, Sasuke seemed more peeved than usual, shooting an accusing glance at Itachi.

"We're staying for dinner."

"Yes, otouto." Itachi sighed and Sasuke's fingers twitched. Hinata respectfully greeted her younger sister before walking to the elevator and pushing the up button. When the doors opened, she saw Neji leaning against the railing.

"H-hello, Neji-san."

"Hello, Hinata-sama. What happened?"

"What-oh." The younger Hyuga unsuccessfully resisted a blush as she looked down at Tenten's clothing. "I-I was b-bathing a d-dog."

Neji nodded. "Right; of course." He stayed where he was, so Hinata walked over to press her floor number before stifling a yawn and inching away from her cousin. The events of the evening had only just registered in her mind, and she held her hands together with so much frustration that her knuckles turned white. Kiba had kissed her; he'd kissed her and she'd kissed him back, and they were going, _as a couple_, to the school dance, which was only three days away. That didn't seem to be much of a problem—except for the fact that she was hopelessly infatuated with Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata tried not to growl and pointedly avoided Neji's pale lavender eyes as she arrived on her floor and the elevator opened with an efficient swish. Extremely focused on her feet, Hinata absentmindedly opened the door to her room and began to strip off Tenten's clothing, donning the crisp white blouse and blue satin skirt that someone—presumably Hanabi—had been ordered to set out for her. Letting her long dark hair down, the Hyuga ran a brush through it, mentally cursing as the teeth caught on a clump of dried-on doggy shampoo. Deciding not to bother with her numerous tangles—life had been so much easier when her hair was short—Hinata picked up the phone and hastily dialed Ino's cell number. Two rings, and her blonde friend picked up.

"It's Ino." The bustle in the background indicated that the Yamanaka was currently on duty at her parents' flower shop. Hinata contemplated hanging up and calling her later—could she make it through dinner?

"H-hi, Ino-chan. It's Hinata. If you're busy—"

"No, it's fine; it's almost forehead's shift anyway." Her voice grew muted as she placed her hand over the speaker.

"Sakura-chan, get the counter. I have to take a call." Sakura protested, but Ino arrived on the line again, her surroundings now considerably quieter.

"So, how's it going, Hinata-chan?"

"F-fine. T-today…w-well, today…I got k-kissed." Hinata winced at the joyous shriek Ino emitted.

"Oh my gods! Really? That's awesome! Was it Naruto-kun?"

"Um…t-that's the p-problem. It—it w-was K-Kiba-kun."

On the other end, Ino sighed audibly. "Okay, Hinata-chan. Did you kiss him back?"

"W-well…k-kind of…"

"Do you like him?"

"Uh…"

"Take my advice—forget about Naruto-kun and stick with the Inuzuka." Meanwhile, a shout came from the counter. "Sorry, Hinata-chan. Got to go, Billboard Brow's being difficult. Congratulations!" A dial tone set in as the blonde hung up.

Hinata replaced her phone and sighed. It would probably be that simple for Ino—she could flit from Sasuke to Shikamaru to Chouji to goodness knows whom without thinking twice, but Hinata had liked Naruto and only Naruto for _three years_. She bit her lip and headed towards the door, hearing Hiashi call the family to dinner.

To all three teenagers' chagrin—least subtly the Uchiha's—Neji and Sasuke were forced to sit on opposite sides of the Hyuga heiress. Despite the fact that houseguests were present, the food was simply rice and sushi. Breaking her disposable chopsticks apart, Hinata waited until everyone else had begun to eat before starting herself. Silence reigned through the meal, punctuated by small talk between Hiashi and Itachi and the occasional sickeningly cute comment by Hanabi. As always, both adults turned on the silent trio which sat at one end of the table; Hiashi fixed a frightening glare upon Neji and inquired about his day.

"It was fine, Hiashi-sama. I ended up switching lockers with Lee-kun due to the sheer amount of love letters I received. Shizune-san was pleased at all the rice cakes I brought for Tonton."

Somehow, Hiashi managed to retain an extremely foul expression through Neji's detached explanation, although Hinata and Itachi stifled laughter. He then looked at Sasuke on the opposite side of this daughter.

"And you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke snorted rather brashly and glared at Hiashi, dark eyes smoldering. "It was _fine_, Hyuga-sama."

Hiashi seemed slightly annoyed, but politely ignored the disrespect and nodded to Hinata. "Hinata-chan, have you found a date to the dance yet?"

The smile Hinata had worked so hard to suppress broke through, but she clenched her chopsticks tightly. "Yes, otou-san."

Neji radiated smugness as Sasuke shot her another glare. Upon noticing rather foolishly that Hiashi was still silent, she continued. "I…I a-asked—I-Inuzuka K-Kiba. Hana-sama's b-brother."

Hinata swore she heard a catcall coming from Neji—or Hanabi; the world was too much of a blur for her to notice. Hiashi appeared critical for a moment, but then nodded.

Staring miserably at her sushi, Hinata poked it around her plate for a moment before deciding that she definitely wasn't hungry. She excused herself and headed for the elevator. To her surprise, she saw a note and a bag taped to the door.

_Uchihas and Hyugas aren't that different...my parents were pretty hard to deal with too. So...if it ever gets to you, here._

Hinata looked down and realized the bag held a key.

_If you can't stay here and your friends aren't around, just drop in, okay? Sasuke might not be friendly, but he won't kill you. You're welcome anytime._

Hinata stared at the key for a moment, then smiled.

_Life's full of little bumps in the road. In the end, they're not that important. But you have to learn from them and deal with them. You'll do well with that. Good luck._

Hinata swallowed. "Thank you, Itachi-san."

It was only once she'd settled into bed, with the object in a locked box in her vanity, her emotional battle raging and her thoughts growing detached, that she realized with some amusement that she had access to the homes of the two most popular boys in school.

* * *

**Did you like it? Tell me! Review!**


	4. Shifting Perceptions

**A/N: So long coming. I'm sorry! Dx**

**As for what happens...not much, really. Wheels are turning, although not that obviously. dun dun dun...**

* * *

"Here." Sakura smiled, obliging, and handed Hinata an extremely large bar of milk chocolate.

"I'm n-not hungry." Hinata stared down at her friend's pink carpet, fingers twitching. She'd been consumed with restless energy ever since the…_incident_…with Kiba. Ino had a tendency to write things off, but Sakura wanted to go to medical school, meaning that in addition to being able to name every bone in the human body, she was a pretty good therapist.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Lunch."

Sakura sighed impatiently and shoved the chocolate closer to Hinata's mouth. "No, you didn't. I was there. I bet you skipped breakfast, too. And how much dinner did you eat?"

Unable to feel too peeved at Sakura for her pushiness, Hinata broke off a small bit of the chocolate and put it in her mouth. It was good.

"All right, now that that's settled, let's get to the problem here," Sakura said, settling herself professionally on a hot pink beanbag. "You kissed Inuzuka Kiba."

Hinata grimaced slightly but giggled. "Y-yeah."

"You're going with him to the dance."

"Y-yeah."

"However, this dance business is actually just a way for you to get Naruto to notice you."

"Well—"

"Okay. First of all, I want you to take this sheet of paper"—Sakura grabbed her English notebook and shoved in Hinata's free hand—"and write down all the reasons you like Naruto."

Hinata blushed, took the pen from Sakura's extended hand, and made a slow and deliberate bullet point. Sensing her discomfort, Sakura stood up and headed for her bedroom door.

"Okay, Hinata-chan. _Ouran High School Host Club_ is on for the next thirty minutes. I'll be back just as it finishes."

Hinata nodded vaguely and studied the lines on the paper. She had her reasons; she knew that…

_He's nice._

_He inspires me to do my best._

_He helped me believe in myself._

_He always puts people in a better mood._

_He never gives up._

_He's funny._

The Hyuga heiress glared down at the offending piece of paper half an hour later, wondering how she'd ended up with something that measly. Sakura knocked on the door and opened it, taking the notebook from Hinata. She scanned the bullets, nodding.

"Okay, Hinata-chan. You're not delusional, which is a good thing. And this list has a whole lot more substance than Ino's reasons for liking Sasuke-kun…" She coughed cynically. "Now, turn the page and write all the things you like about Kiba. _Ouran_'s running back-to-back." She left again.

_He's sweet…most of the time._

_He pays attention to me—I guess._

_He's always considerate…to animals._

_He used to be my best friend—though I don't know if I was sober back then._

_He's funny—though he likes his bathroom humor._

One less than Naruto. Hinata heard the closing theme of whatever anime Sakura was watching and closed her eyes, sighing in frustration. Hearing footsteps and the door creaking open, Hinata motioned to the notebook. Pages rustled and Sakura read over her reasons, chuckling; the Hyuga opened her eyes to see her pink-haired friend nodding once more.

"Okay, Hinata-chan. From this, I've gathered that your relationships with Naruto and Kiba-kun are pretty different. See, your bond with Naruto is mostly your admiration of and infatuation with—don't look at me like that, you know it's true—him. With Kiba, you're friendlier, but you don't respect him as much. To you, Naruto's a far-off fantasy, while Kiba's within reach, but not as…good? Important? I don't know." Sakura chewed on the end of the pen thoughtfully. "Huh. You're tough. Here." She tore the pages out of her notebook and handed them to Hinata. "Keep them. It'll probably help you sort things out."

Hinata folded them in half and stuck the papers in her jacket pocket in time to hear the doorbell ring; Neji had arrived to pick her up. How the boy managed to have a social life while being her chauffer was beyond Hinata, but, then again, he deserved to run around for her a bit, what with all the obnoxious things he did.

"How was therapy?"

Hinata shot Neji a pathetic version of the Hyuga Death Glare and ignored his greeting. Honestly, sometimes she thought the boy could see through walls. And doors, and trees—that would be pretty cool. And logically…through clothing.

Ew.

Shaking the thought from her mind, Hinata leapt up into the passenger seat of Neji's car, making full use of the happy spring in her step that had mysteriously appeared after the _incident_. After bouncing slightly like a sugar-high toddler, Hinata pulled her seat belt down and shut the door, twirling her hair in the process. She immediately stopped at Neji's chuckle and blushed, pretending to be unable to hear his jibe over the sound of the engine roaring to life. She leaned back, eyes flickering to the digital clock on the dashboard. Five forty-five and far too much work left to do. Hinata leaned her head back and yawned despite the current that seemed to run through her body. Sakura lived on the other side of town; the car ride would be at least half and hour. Hinata sighed and began replaying the Naruto Moment of the Day in her head.

"_Hey, Lee-san?"_

"_Oh, hello, youthful flower of Konoha, my truest love Sakura-san!"_

_Sakura smiled at him warmly. "Uh, so, Lee-san—are you going to the dance?"_

_The green-suited ninja's prodigious eyebrows shot up and his face grew pensive; only an ill-hidden twitch of the lips betrayed his excitement._

"_Why, of course, Sakura-san, if I can find a truly youthful blossom to accompany me!"_

Hinata smiled absentmindedly but fast-forwarded in her head.

"_Youth! Naruto-san, you will never believe what has transpired on the youthful springtime of today!" Lee pounced on the passing blonde and shoved him up against a locker, his strength apparent as Naruto paled._

"_Sakura-chan asked you to the dance? Ne, she's got weird taste. First teme and then you?" Naruto sounded perfectly innocent. Hinata smiled._

"_Well, my youthful friend, I suppose you believe the only good taste a woman could have is for you. You do not understand the youthful passions of the heart!"_

_Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. Hinata's heart clenched. "Well, to be honest, that's not true."_

"_But don't you think Hinata-chan has good taste?" Sakura piped up from behind Lee, smiling at the desperate glare she received from the Hyuga. Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Inuzuka? She'd be better off with me."_

Hinata sighed, deciding to cut off the memory there, and focused on the scenery outside.

"_That's cold, man." Kiba walked up behind Naruto and punched his arm with a little more malice than necessary. "Nana-chan's got great taste in guys. And decorating, and food, and clothes…"_

_Sakura and Lee cracked up as Naruto smirked. Kiba ignored them, his eyes focused on Hinata._

_Very nice eyes._

_The last things she'd seen before Kiba…_

Wait.

Kiba?

* * *

Over at the clinic, Kiba sneezed.

Hana turned around and smirked. "You know, when you sneeze, it means someone's thinking about you."

Kiba's heartbeat sped up a little, and he scowled. "That's a stupid superstition, you know? If it was true, half the people in the world would be sneezing all the time." He sighed and turned away, patting Akamaru absently. The feeling reminded him of the slick texture of the soapy dog's fur, and then the way that his hands had brushed Hinata's…

He coughed slightly and snapped out of it, turning red. Yes, the girl was rubbing off on him. Hana eyed him with curiosity and slight worry, walking over and gently removing the schedule from his hands.

"You need a break."

Kiba didn't protest; he sighed and headed over to the employee restroom and shoved open his locker, rummaging through his coat and grabbing a cell phone. Shutting it not bothering to snap on his lock—only he and Lee worked Wednesdays, and Lee was about as capable of dishonesty as Sasuke was of conversation—he pulled it open and leaned against the wall. Kiba hit the fourth number on speed dial—after home, Hana, and the clinic—and prayed that the owner was available.

"Kiba?" A deep and slightly muffled voice answered.

"Uh, hi, Shino. I need to talk."

"When don't you?"

"Shut up, will you?" Kiba let out a snort of frustration. Sure, the Aburame was his best friend, but he possessed the biggest ego after Tenten—no, tied for it—and he wasn't in the mood to put up with the usual banter. Shino was not surprised.

"I presume you're calling about Hyuga Hinata-sama." The other boy's monotone betrayed nothing. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"You _presumed_ right, Bug-boy."

"Well, I don't see the problem." Shino's voice grew deceptively light. It was a clear tell.

"Really?" The Inuzuka's tone grew strained with his pent-up anger.

"Yes. You like her, she likes you, and you're going to the dance together." The boy answered offhandedly, and Kiba had a sudden and disturbing image of a long-haired Shino sitting at a secretary's desk somewhere, chewing gum and filing his nails.

"There's a few things wrong with that picture, Shino. Like that _she doesn't like me_."

"She kissed you back, didn't she? I think that in most cultures that implies she is attracted to you."

Kiba cursed loudly. "You've been hanging around Sai-kun, haven't you? Okay, I get it. You're useless." He cursed again and, not waiting to hear his friend's reply, snapped the phone shut with a little more force than necessary. Only riled up further, he shoved the door open to see Lee walking by. Hana looked up.

"Hey, Lee-kun. Did you get the flowers?"

Lee turned red and mumbled something; Kiba, unwilling to put up with the matter, charged forward and poked his co-worker at the joint between neck and collarbone. Lee became redder and yelped.

"Sakura-san was on duty," the Inuzuka growled.

Hana raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Kiba, could you run down to the Yamanaka flower shop and get our delivery? Normally, I wouldn't let you get within twenty feet of civilized humans when you're like this, but…"

"Hilarious," Kiba snapped. The shop was only three blocks away; he didn't need to use the car. Slamming the service exit's door as he left at a run, the teenager took rapid, angry breaths, eyes in slits and fists clenching.

The cold hit him like a tidal wave, and he stopped in his tracks. The congestion in his throat ebbed away, and Kiba blinked to see the world in greater clarity. Suppressing yet another sneeze, he turned around and caught sight of Akamaru running towards him.

"Hey, boy." Kiba allowed his cold fingers to tangle in the dog's fur; warmth seeped into his whole arm. Akamaru whined and Kiba offered him a hand, which he happily licked. Wiping off the saliva on his jeans, the boy slid a hand under the dog's collar. Kiba turned and met eyes with his pet. "Hey, Akamaru, want to race to the flower shop?"

The duo took off at a run, and within minutes they were standing at the entrance to the store, panting heavily. The Inuzuka cursed casually at the "No Pets" sign on the door and composed himself, pointing a finger at Akamaru.

"I'll be right back. _Stay_." The door chimed as he walked in.

A blonde girl dressed in purple turned around from where she was setting a display and smiled. "Hello, Kiba-kun."

"Hi, Ino-san," Kiba muttered, leaning against the wall and trying to catch his breath. "Ha—Hana-san wants me to pick—up—the flowers…"

"They're back here." Ino threaded her way through the shop, finally arriving at a large cart. Kiba raised his eyebrows. "I can manage that."

"What about the other one?" Ino reappeared, pushing a second cart. Kiba rolled his eyes. "I'm going to have to make two trips."

Ino shrugged absently. "I can take one, you know. I'm not weak. Plus, the publicity would do us some good. Zetsu's plant store down the street is driving our customers off." She rolled her eyes. "Half those plants would _eat you_ if they got a chance. Why not just stick with flowers?"

"Carnivorous plants are cool," Kiba answered, grabbing hold of one cart and pushing it towards the entrance. Ino snorted and followed. "Flowers are traditional."

"That's not necessarily a good thing." The Inuzuka let go of his cart and shoved the door open; Ino maneuvered through. She placed one cart on the curb before going back inside to get the other. Kiba grabbed one once both were out of the building and called Akamaru, who growled at the plants, sneezed, and then began to lope leisurely along next to the two teenagers. Kiba and Ino walked in silence until the blonde spoke.

"Traditionalism is safer. What normal girl wants a man-eating plant?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I don't know! Tenten?"

The Yamanaka began to nod. "Huh. True. You should tell Hinata to suggest it to Neji." Ino almost smirked as she caught him wince.

"Neji and Tenten aren't going out."

"Okay."

Kiba pointedly looked away from Ino's expectant stare, but he could tell that one of her huge, pupil-less blue eyes was on him, and he cracked.

"Hinata and I aren't going out, either, so stop looking at me like that!"

The blonde snickered. "You sound like you don't want to."

Kiba focused his attention on the cart and ignored Ino for the rest of the walk.

* * *

**Review? I do read them all, and they are very much appreciated :D I also like reading your predictions. They inspire me to write in plot twists sometimes, which I love doing.**

**As for _Ouran_...a pun on Sakura's name. Yes, I've been reading Shakespeare (he tends to make the most vague and obsolete puns, lol)**


	5. Creeping Up Slowly

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**A/N: I really need to figure out how often to update...heh. I can't churn out this stuff that fast xD**

**Er...this fic has been bumped up to T. Not because of anything in this or the next few chapters, but...well, you'll see. Pretty mild.**

**I honestly have nothing to say. -shiftyeyes- Enjoy!**

It took about ten minutes for Shino to get the door. Kiba leaned on the railing of his friend's steps, muttering absently to nothing in particular. He was still awkwardly in front of the entrance when the Aburame let him in.

"You could have hurried up, Shino. It's gotten cold out there." Kiba pulled off his jacket and dumped it on the couch, noting that the other boy was more stoic than usual. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kiba huffed out a cold breath and faced Shino, staring at him straight in the eyes—well, sunglasses.

"I'm sorry."

The Aburame looked up from the fly he was petting. "Really?"

"Yes. You were only trying to help. Okay, granted you were being a complete prick of it, but I shouldn't have reacted like that. Even though you could have been a little more sensitive of my temper."

The Aburame cocked an eyebrow. "Kiba, have you been drinking?"

"I—_what_?"

"The only time I would hear your apologize for anything was if you were a recovering alcoholic on Step Nine."

The Inuzuka scowled. "Okay, now that's over with. What do you want to do? Stay here? Go somewhere? I have to be at the clinic in an hour…"

Shino smiled and motioned to the couch; Kiba flopped down happily.

* * *

"K-Kiba's not here y-yet," Hinata remarked. Hana looked up from her paperwork, taking a moment to process the soft speech.

"I let him come in an hour late today. He wanted to go over to Shino's, and they got in a fight yesterday."

"Oh…" The Hyuga tapped her fingers together lightly, feeling out of place alone with the older woman. Shikamaru strolled in and placed a folder onto the doctor's desk, eyes lazily casting over the scene. Hana sifted through the folder before putting it aside and adjusting her reading glasses.

"Shikamaru-kun, call and confirm tomorrow's appointments. Hinata-chan, please sweep the employee bathroom." She got up and walked into a hall leading to the examination room; Hinata began walking towards the bathroom when Shikamaru intercepted her.

"You make the calls. I'll sweep."

"I-it's okay." Hinata barely managed to answer in her surprise.

"Talking to people is troublesome," he grumbled, and shoved open the bathroom door. The Hyuga sighed and clambered into Hana's swivel chair, scanning the database for Friday's roster and picking up the phone. She'd never liked phones—talking was not her strong suit—but she'd have to make do. Taking a breath of resolve, she proceeded to dial the first name on the list—Hoshigaki Kisame and his pet fish. Thankfully, the man wasn't home, so all she needed to do was leave a message. Most of the calls, a few to people she knew, were uneventful—until her eyes dropped to the next name.

Uzumaki Naruto. She didn't know he had a pet—that wasn't a plant. Unsure of whether to thank the gods or curse her luck that she wouldn't be working Friday, Hinata cautiously punched in the number. Five rings. Maybe he wasn't home.

"It's Naruto!"

The familiar voice made her breath catch in her throat. Gulping, she began to speak.

"I-it's the I-Inuzuka V-Veterinary C-Clinic, H-Hi-na-t-ta s-speaking. I-I've c-called t-to c-conf-firm y-your a-app-point-m-ment t-to-m-morrow."

"Hinata-san? I didn't know you worked there! Yeah, sure, I'll try to remember." A crash came from the other side of the phone. "Oops. Sorry, got to go. Seeya!" The receiver clicked and the Hyuga slammed the phone down with more force than necessary, trying to control her erratic breathing.

"Nana-chan?"

Hinata nearly jumped out of the chair and spun around once. Kiba caught the seat and cocked an eyebrow at her. "What happened? Someone threaten you?"

"N-no…n-nothing." She began trying to breathe evenly. In, out, in, out, why wasn't her blush receding?

To make matters worse, her co-worker had leaned across her to study the list; not only would he find out that Naruto was the reason for her condition; he was very, _very_ close. Heat emanated from him, ghosting Hinata's skin and making her shiver. She could hear him growl as he read something, but was saved from discovering what it was by Tenten, who burst through the door.

"Finished, Hana-san!" The girl looked around and rolled her eyes before proceeding to re-tie a bun. "Ugh. Looks like I don't have another job, do I?"

Hinata rolled away from Kiba to answer Tenten. "S-she's got three half-hour appointments straight, so she just gave m-me this job. Y-you might w-want to check on Shikamaru-kun, t-though. He's b-been s-sweeping the b-bathroom for an hour."

Tenten gave an exasperated and very theatrical sigh before barging in and proceeding to shout at the younger boy for falling asleep on the job. Kiba turned around, looking calmer than before, and smiled at Hinata. "I'll make the calls, okay? I need something to do. There litter needs changing in the cat compound anyway, and Tenten's not going to be doing it anytime soon."

The Hyuga nodded, grateful, and shuffled away to the adoption center. Something was burning in the pit of her stomach—whether Kiba or Naruto had incited it, she didn't know. More than a little lightheaded and ridiculously cheerful, she pulled out the keys and unlocked the cat room, proceeding to scoop the litter and replace it. The task didn't take long; Hinata decided to check the rest of the rooms as well, and finally chose to take three of the dogs out on a stroll in the field out back, which led to excessive use of the little plastic bag she'd been given. Not the least put off by the rather disgusting task, Hinata blinked at the cold, relishing its crisp freshness. Her intense focus on her work, coupled with how the chilly atmosphere sets her senses on edge, veered her idle thoughts away from Naruto for the first time in…well, years. Suddenly interested in the way her breath was visible, despite the season, Hinata threw the last bag into the trash can and lifted her hands to cold lips. Instinctively, she glanced at her watch and was surprised to realize Neji was due to pick her up in ten minutes.

Grabbing the dogs, Hinata guided them back to the kennels, unclipped their leashes and locked the doors. Making sure the blanket preventing the draft from outside was in place, she looped the leashes around her forearm and entered the closet. Clambering up the old crate in front of the hooks and cursing her short stature, she began to clip each into its proper place. She cast a long shadow; there was only one lightbulb in the place.

Someone sneezed behind her.

Startled, Hinata let out a quiet cry and grabbed the shelf, preventing herself from slipping. Turning around, she saw Kiba, whose expression went from alarmed to amused to smug. Hinata shot him a glare and clipped on the last leash.

"A-are you d-doing anything about that cold?"

Kiba sniffed loudly and grinned. "What cold?" He sneezed again and sighed. "Er…well, not really. But I'm not infectious or anything."

"A-are you s-sure you should…c-come to s-school t-tomorrow?" Hinata studied his nose with some concern; it was almost as red at his facial markings and raw from being blown. Kiba rubbed the back of his neck; Hinata turned away. Too much like Naruto…

"It's Friday; I can make it. What, Nana-chan? Trying to stop me from going to the dance with you?"

Hinata abruptly turned red and gasped. "Oh! N-no, K-Kiba-kun! I-I was j-just worried…n-no!"

Kiba laughed—the sound was muted by his congestion—and held out a hand to help her down from the crate. Hinata took it, extremely focused on her feet, and landed softly on the floor. Kiba stacked the box he'd been sent in for and shoved open the door, holding it long enough to ensure that it wouldn't close on Hinata. They crossed the corridor; Hana was slouching in her chair and downing a mug of coffee while Shikamaru locked the back doors and tried to ignore Lee's enthusiastic discussion about whether to wear an orange shirt and green tie or green shirt and orange tie to the dance. Tenten was in the hallway, speaking to someone; Hana lifted her coffee mug and muttered, "Neji's here."

Kiba patted her shoulder as a form of goodbye, and Hinata, grabbing her bag, approached her cousin. Tenten bid them both farewell and went to the back to check the locks—"Lazy idiot never gets them right"; Neji unlocked the car and took his time starting it up.

"So," he began with a smirk. Hinata groaned inwardly.

"Tomorrow's Friday."

The Hyuga nodded and smiled impersonally at Neji. "Yes, Neji nii-san. Who are you going to the dance with?"

"I'm sure you'll find out. The more pertinent question is, who are _you_ going to the dance with?"

"Why does my personal life matter to you, Neji nii-san?" Hinata yawned and snapped her seat belt closed. She heard the car growl to life and her cousin adjust the gear.

"I like hearing about the exploits of the younger generation."

Hinata sighed and leaned her head to look out the window at the sidewalk and the trees that adorned it, noting that Deidara's store had hired a tall guy in an orange mask to stand outside and greet customers; he was scaring a few of them off, but it was a more successful marketing tactic than Sasori's next door, with its large and rather menacing metal puppet at the front. A few streets later, she found Sasuke and Naruto hanging out with a few people she didn't recognize in front of the movie theater. Neji grinned evilly and swerved one lane closer to the sidewalk. Hinata squeaked with panic and slid lower down into her seat, heart thumping. The older Hyuga rolled his eyes and kept on driving. Somewhat indignant, face burning, Hinata decided to quit looking at the town and studied her nails, making a mental note to cut them. Or should she keep them long? She'd never been the type for overly feminine pursuits, but tomorrow _was_ the dance.

Suddenly, panic swallowed her. The dance! Tomorrow! And she had no idea what to do! She fumbled around her back pocket until she located her cell phone and immediately dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"I-Ino-chan?"

"Hinata-chan?" Something rustled in the background and the blonde was silent for a moment. "Yeah?"

"I…I n-need help. R-regarding…you know."

"Tomorrow?" Ino seemed to be musing over something. When she finally spoke, her tone was more serious.

"Hinata, you need to make a decision. Kiba-kun or Naruto-kun." Not waiting for a reply, she rushed into her analysis.

"I didn't really know Kiba-kun, but I've talked to him more recently, and he's a nice guy. Full of himself and an idiot, but a nice guy. He's the one at risk here, Hinata-chan! Naruto isn't the one being led on to have his hopes dashed."

Hinata gulped, feeling even more panicked. "W-wait! He-he _likes_ me?" It was a stupid question; Kiba had kissed her, so she had to assume that he liked her. But she'd kissed him back, and that was rather involuntary. Maybe he'd gotten swept up in the moment…

"I…I don't know." Ino seemed unsure of herself, which was rare. "He…honestly, Hinata, I'm sorry. I have no idea whether he likes you or you like him, or anything. But about tomorrow—see how it goes, okay?"

"O-okay. I'll t-try."

"All right. I have to go…see you!" Hinata heard the phone close and ended her own side of the call; Neji turned around looking skeptical.

"Ah, the dramas of teenage life."

She didn't get a chance to respond, as the guard had just let them into the Hyuga parking deck, and hurried into the house. She needed something sweet and at least ten hours of sleep.

* * *

Kiba gave up on his tie and ran a hand through his hair, glancing in the mirror and hoping he looked acceptable. Grabbing a tissue to blow his nose, he pulled on his pants and did the buttons on his shirt. Tsume hollered for him to hurry up; grabbing his bag and hopping down the stairs while attempting to pull on his socks, Kiba scrambled to the kitchen and grabbed a cereal bar. Tearing it open, he stuffed the entire thing into his mouth before yanking his keys out of a drawer and racing out the front door.

The car door was forcefully pulled open and Kiba leapt into the driver's seat, shoving his keys into the ignition and fumbling with his seat belt. He pushed the pedal, realized he needed to shift the gear, and caught sight of the digital display on the truck. Seven forty-nine; he was going to be late if he didn't hurry. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic on Fridays, so he made it in fifteen minutes, only inciting twelve honks and one bout of road rage. Scrambling out and locking the truck clumsily, Kiba shoved the keys into his pocket and ran into the school. He had barely managed to shove his books into his locker and slide into class before the bell rang; Asuma-sensei gave him a disapproving look and lit another cigarette. Sai, at Kiba's right, waved cheerfully before turning back to face the teacher.

* * *

Hinata opened her lunch box at the cafeteria table as Ino and Sakura dumped their trays. Sakura seemed happier than usual; the reason was soon apparent. Looking extremely ill-tempered, Sasuke placed his tray on the table silently and stared down at his food, shooting occasional angry glares at Naruto, who had plopped down next to him. Lee was the last to join the group; Ino immediately attacked Sasuke, while Sakura listened to Lee's fascinating account about his training schedule. Hinata stared, horrified, at her lunch, blushing very red. Naruto seemed to feel the need to end the lack of discourse between them. He laced his fingers behind his head and flashed a grin. "So, Hinata-chan, are you going to be working today?"

The Hyuga's breath caught in her throat; she quickly chewed, swallowed, and wiped her teeth free of her food before looking up and answering quietly. "N-no. I o-only w-work T-Tuesdays, T-Thursdays and S-Saturdays." Naruto nodded; Hinata decided to take some initiative.

"Do—do you h-have a j-job?"

Naruto grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I work at the grocery store. Weekends, with Sasuke and Sakura." He swallowed again before continuing. "So…Sakura-chan's got a lot of jobs, ne?"

Hinata built up the courage to look him in the eye. "Y-yeah. S-she's g-going t-to h-have g-good c-college c-credentials."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Not like she needs them. She's got amazing grades. So do you, right?"

Hinata blushed. "W-well…I—I h-have s-straight A's, b-but…" she trailed off, unsure. Naruto leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder; it sent shivers down her spine.

"Uh—s-so, w-who a-are you g-going to t-the d-dance w-with?"

Naruto shrugged. "You know that girl from math class? The one with the red hair? She asked me. I said yes, just because I kind of knew her…and I need this grade to pass!" He laughed. Hinata let out a feeble giggle of her own, feeling pathetically giddy.

* * *

**Review?**


	6. Dancing

**A/N: A few notes: There are no named OCs in this; Karin, Suigetsu and Shiho are all mentioned in recent manga chapters. No spoilers, though, really. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is copyright Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Neji didn't even bother to greet Hinata when she leapt into the car. The Hyuga mansion was twenty minutes away, and the dance started in an hour. Heart pounding, Hinata shut the door quickly and buckled in. Neji had already left the parking lot. The younger Hyuga relaxed and turned to study her cousin's face. Neji's narrow eyebrows were creased even more than usual; he was bent forwards towards the steering wheel and an entire tuft of dark hair had slipped out of his ponytail. Hinata almost gave a classic Hyuga smirk when she mused about why Neji was so worked up. _So much for never rushing destiny._

Thankfully, he had the sense to slow down as they approached, although the whiteness of his knuckles and the way he gripped the steering wheel betrayed his impatience. Once on the parking deck—as always, his floor—Neji calmly adjusted the shift, pulled out the keys, and snapped his seatbelt open. The two of them walked excruciatingly slowly through the side door.

Once Hinata realized that the hallway was clear, she raced to the elevator and lightly tapped her floor number. The ride was too long; she glanced at her watch and grimaced. To get there on time, she'd have to leave in twenty minutes. Running to her room, she locked the door, stripped off her uniform, and washed her face. Her clothes were on their personal hanger in her closet; she'd planned ahead. She donned her clothes and, slightly dismayed, stared at the pale purple top. It looked a whole lot worse on her than it had yesterday. As for that skirt…was it too thick? Too thin? Too short? Too _long_?

Resolutely, she stared at the mirror and sighed. She had to calm down. Didn't she like Naruto-kun because he judged people by who they were and not what they looked like?

_What about Kiba?_

Taking a deep breath, Hinata studied her reflection and pulled a brush deliberately from her vanity. She ran the spokes down the length of her purple-tinted hair, brushed on a minimal amount of makeup (she only knew how because Ino had forced her to learn), and licked her lips. There. She glanced at her wrist and noticed the time—five forty-five. She hurried over to the car, grabbing her jacket as she went.

Neji was standing by it, and, sadly enough, Hinata couldn't help but pause for a moment to admire his glory. His hair had been left open; it fell, almost black in the lighting, around his pale face. He was wearing a navy blue button-down shirt and beige trousers, and he looked anything but pleased.

"Hurry up," he snapped.

They were on the road in three minutes; unfortunately for Neji, Lee was in the green Volkswagen Beetle in the next lane and had nearly crashed into the sidewalk and given Sakura a coronary trying to avoid a squirrel on the road. It was roadkill the moment it passed Neji, who then focused on ignoring Hinata's horror, Lee's tears and the rather threatening way Sakura was glaring at him.

Both Hyugas were relieved to have arrived at school.

The dance hadn't started and the students were milling about the front of the school. Hinata glimpsed Kiba, who seemed dumbstruck by her appearance for a moment and then waved enthusiastically. Blushing, Hinata slunk through the crowd towards him.

Kiba had gelled his hair slightly so that the stray spikes wouldn't spill over; he was dressed in a white dress shirt, brown pants, and a tie with dogs on it. When Hinata was by his side, he turned a light shade of pink around his cheeks and raised his hand slightly below her nose, exposing a small bunch of pale blue hydrangeas.

"Ino-san told me they were your favorite," he said, grinning. Hinata felt herself go red; her eyes sought purchase anywhere but Kiba's face. They settled on the flowers, which she took quietly, muttering "Thank you, Kiba-kun." She looked at them for a moment longer, unsure of what to do, before turning around to walk into the now-open doors of the school. Kiba followed her, and Hinata gathered the courage to look him in the eye. He grinned again, and Hinata fought to calm her nerves.

"I like what you're wearing, Nana-chan."

Hinata smiled. "Y-you too, K-Kiba-kun. N-nice tie."

Kiba smirked as he looked down to admire it. "Yeah. Hana gave it to me; one of those employee loyalty things. Hey, if you work there for seven years, maybe you'll get one too!"

The Hyuga laughed. "Y-you've been w-working there f-for seven y-years?"

Kiba nodded proudly. "Unpaid, too, for five of them. Actually, I was basically running around and giving Hana a hard time. But I was good with the dogs, so…" He trailed off as they approached the entrance to the gym, where a tall, muscular man in an orange shirt and green slacks stood with a clipboard. Several of the students groaned, but one boy with a bowl cut sped forward, gracefully enough so as not to knock over the girl he was escorting.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"_Gai-sensei_!"

"_Lee_!"

"Great Gai-sensei, I have at last come into my youth! Behold at the wondrous flower that stands before me!"

Gai began weeping dramatically, tears flowing down his sculpted cheeks as he dropped to his knee and bowed to Sakura. "Ah, Sakura-san, at last my student's affections have been requited! How I wish I were as youthful as you are! Enjoy this springtime, my students! Yosh!"

By this time, Sakura had turned the color of her hair, and Lee, noticing this change, dried his own tears, let go of Sakura's hand, and held open the door. Hinata stifled a giggle.

Gai recovered as the students each handed their dance tickets to him; Hinata bit her lip and turned around as she entered the gym, wondering how Neji and his date would fare at the mercy of Konoha's Green Beast. Suddenly, she caught a flash of blonde hair, accompanied by a messy tangle of red.

Naruto ran over to the front of the line, flashing an enthusiastic thumbs-up at Gai. He was dressed in orange and black, as always; Hinata watched him, awed as always by the way he exuded confidence and happiness. The redhead next to him shoved her ticket into Gai-sensei's hand, tossed her ponytail back, adjusted her glasses and walked in, an acceptable distance from Naruto. Karin was another very public Sasuke fangirl, and one of the few he could be described as his friend. However, "friend" was a loose term when it came to the Uchiha.

Hinata stopped analyzing her colleague and turned her attention to Kiba, who was waving to Shino and the girl standing next to him. Sakura, who was only a few feet away, smiled widely at Hinata and approached.

"Hey! You look great."

"T-thanks, Sakura-chan. Y-you too. H-have you s-seen I-Ino-chan yet?"

The pink-haired teenager furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged. "I think she's coming with Chouji."

"T-that's nice. B-but w-what about S-Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata questioned. The three teenagers, despite their differences, rarely went anywhere without each other.

Sakura shrugged. "Too troublesome, I guess. Although I head a rumor that he's coming with that girl with glasses—the one who breaks codes and has a huge crush on him? Although, honestly, I doubt that he could keep up with her…" She laughed, and Lee turned from his animated conversation with Shino and Kiba to smile at her.

Meanwhile, Kiba groaned and rolled his eyes. He realized that Ino had walked through the door and was approaching them. Great. Not her…

Chouji trailed a few paces behind Ino, munching on some chips and talking to Shikamaru, who had just come in with the girl Sakura had mentioned. Ino took this opportunity to look around the gym and then muttered to Sakura, "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura stomped harshly on her foot, eliciting a yelp. "Quit it, pig! You're here with a date! Have some decency."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll ask someone else. Oh, Hinata-chan! You look gorgeous." Ino straightened out some wrinkles in Hinata's top and smiled. "Hey, Kiba-kun. I see the flower ruse was successful?"

"Hi, Ino-san," Kiba said, slightly annoyed. Ino smiled sweetly and called to Chouji, who snapped to attention.

"Hey, Chouji, could you get a cup of water?" She batted her blonde eyelashes but stopped immediately and narrowed her eyes at Shikamaru's mutter of "troublesome woman."

When Chouji had returned, with two extra bags of chips in hand, Ino held the cup under the hydrangeas and helped Hinata place them in the water.

"You know, hydrangeas mean 'Thank you for understanding'."

"That fits Hinata well," Sakura added, smiling. Her eyes shifted and her grin grew wider as a boisterous voice yelled, "Sakura-chan!"

The rosette sighed and smacked Naruto soundly as he approached. "What, abandoned your date already?"

"She went to talk to Suigetsu-kun," Naruto explained with a shrug. "Honestly, I don't mind. She's creepy."

"Karin's nice when you get to know her," Sakura countered halfheartedly, returning to her soda. Ino clambered up the bleachers to place the cup with the flowers in a safe spot before returning and shooting a glance at Naruto. "Hey, Naruto-kun. Where's Sasuke-kun?"

"Being antisocial in a corner," Naruto said with a sigh. "And he hasn't annoyed me enough for me to tell you which one."

Ino snorted but let the matter rest; Kiba flopped down on one of the bleachers and held his hands behind his head. "Anyone going to dance?"

Lee's ears perked toward the music and he bowed to Sakura, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Sakura-san, may I?"

The Haruno acquiesced with a tilt of her head and followed Lee to the dance floor, where he executed several martial-arts moves until the other teenagers had given him a wide berth. Sakura was more restrained; Lee calmed himself soon enough and the crowd regrouped.

Naruto sat down between Ino and Hinata, leaning back. "Hey, Hinata-chan. How are you doing?"

Blood rushed to the Hyuga's face. "F-fine, N-Naruto-kun. T-they did a n-nice job w-with the g-gym."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, I should know. Tsunade-baachan made me stay after school for an hour getting the place ready."

There was a barely perceptible edge to Kiba's voice as he entered the conversation. "Hey, Naruto, how's Gamabunta doing?"

"Great. Hana said he was the healthiest toad she's seen. Not that she sees a lot of toads, though…" Naruto's voice trailed off and he yawned. "Hey, who wants to dance with me?"

Hinata remained frozen in place, heart beating loudly. Next to her, Ino seemed to be calculating something. She looked up and held out a hand. "I'll dance, Naruto-kun. Why don't Kiba and Hinata come?"

Kiba stood up. "Sure. Coming, Nana-chan?"

Hinata nodded and soon she found herself in the middle of the tightly knit group, Kiba nearly crushed to her side. A slow song had begun to play; unsure, she turned to look at Ino and Naruto, who had clasped hands and were swaying back and forth less than gracefully to the beat. Kiba, who had been watching them as well, copied their motions.

Back and forth, back and forth…

Hinata lost herself to her thoughts within the cocoon of students; focusing only on the music and Kiba's warmth. Before she knew it, she'd been drawn closer to him than before, so that his lips were a fraction of an inch from her ear. The silence between them—the students around were rather loud, though—began to grow; Hinata suddenly decided to break it.

"D-did you w-work t-today?"

The vibrations on her ear from Kiba's breath made her lightheaded. "Yeah, but not for long."

"Y-you w-work a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess." Kiba paused. "Where's Neji-kun?"

Hinata turned her head to examine the teenagers around them; she didn't see her cousin. Meanwhile, Kiba's lips had brushed her ear; she could barely hold in a gasp. "I don't know. He w-wouldn't t-tell me who h-he w-was coming w-with…but she m-must have b-been important, b-because he w-was panicked t-today."

Kiba snorted. "Neji? Panicked? I'd pay to see that."

"I know," Hinata added with a giggle. Kiba's eyes began to study her face.

"Do you remember elementary school?"

The Hyuga was caught off guard; she almost tapped her forefingers together, or would have if her hands weren't enclosed in Kiba's. She nodded, immediately regretting it as the chapped skin from Kiba's lips once again ghosted her ear. "We s-sat next t-to each other, right?"

"Hyuga, Inuzuka. The wonders of alphabetical order," he said. "Yeah. You were really shy."

Hinata blushed. "And I'm n-not anymore?"

"Not as much," he answered. She felt the skin again as his mouth curved into a smile. "Remember when you first met Akamaru?"

She smiled, recalling the small puppy that had unabashedly knocked her down when Kiba had first brought him to the park. She'd almost cried, but then Akamaru's cold, wet tongue had licked her nose and she couldn't keep from laughing. Kiba had grabbed her hand, pulling her up from the ground before Hiashi could notice.

The Inuzuka watched his date carefully; Hinata's eyes had glazed over slightly and her lips had turned upward. His eyes felt somewhat disoriented, as they were focused on something exactly to his right, but no amount of discomfort could keep him from looking at her.

As if on cue, Kakashi popped out of nowhere and spoiled the moment.

"No hogging your partners, kids! Switch!" Startled, both of the teenagers let go; Kiba suppressed a yelp as he found himself shoved in front of Ino. The blonde seemed equally shocked but took his hands in hers nonetheless.

"What happened to Naruto-kun?"

The Yamanaka snorted. "I have no idea…stupid Kakashi-sensei."

"Huh. How's the shop?"

"You should know. You were in there not too long ago," she scoffed. "But it's doing well. The competition against Zetsu's still stiff. So…why didn't you go there? Did you say it was more _interesting_?" Her tone grew malicious.

"Shut up."

Ino rolled her eyes.

"Ack!" Naruto nearly knocked over the couple behind him as Hinata fell into his arms. The Hyuga blushed and moved back a bit, swaying in a calculated fashion. Naruto sighed with something between relief and exasperation.

"Well, now Kiba's got to deal with Ino-chan," he chuckled good-naturedly. Hinata looked up at him; even in the dark lighting his whisker marks were visible. She had a sudden, unseemly desire to run her fingers across them. His bright blue eyes were shining and tufts of bright yellow hair stuck in every direction. Hinata knew this face by heart; she hadn't stopped thinking about it since the seventh grade. Earlier, even; she didn't really know when she'd become attracted to Naruto. She recalled Ino's interpretation of the hydrangeas—"thank you for understanding". Hadn't Kiba told her something along those lines, on her first day of work?

She didn't pretend to understand Naruto, but she'd appreciated him when no one else did. A voice in her head spoke, unbidden.

_Don't you deserve him, just for that?_

It occurred to her then that she'd been friendless in elementary school until Kiba took it upon himself to break through her shell.

"Hey, look, it's Sai!"

Naruto's voice cut through her thoughts, and Hinata turned her neck enough to catch Sai dancing with a girl she didn't know a little less decently than anyone would have preferred. Naruto snorted at his behavior; Hinata managed a giggle.

"Sai's an idiot," Naruto commented. "I don't get why people think he's like Sasuke."

"T-they do l-look s-similar," Hinata murmured. "B-but their p-personalities are v-very different."

"I guess." The song they'd been dancing to faded away. Naruto unclasped his and Hinata's hands and looked at the Hyuga. "Wow, I'm hungry. I hope they have ramen!" He ran off, pushing indiscriminately through the crowd.

Kiba was at her side again. "We should eat now."

"O-okay," Hinata muttered, breathless again. They weaved their way over to the line for the booth selling dinner; Kiba offered to pay for both of them, but Hinata turned him down politely. She got herself a slice of pizza—she hadn't had any in ages—and some water, then headed over to one of the fold-over tables that some students had put up while she'd been dancing. Ino and Chouji were already sitting there, Ino with an apple and Chouji with several meals' worth of foodstuffs on his plate. Shikamaru and his date were on the other side of Chouji; Shiho was speaking animatedly, not put off by the little amount of interest Shikamaru had in their conversation. Shino sat down by Kiba, and Sakura and Lee by the Hyuga. With a slight feeling of triumph, Hinata caught Neji and Tenten at the bleachers holding small boxes of rice. She tuned herself out of the conversation, and when she was done, she realized that it was almost seven-thirty and that the dance would be ending soon. The teenagers began to disperse; Neji left and Hinata followed. She was in the parking lot when she realized that she'd left her jacket in the gym.

"Hinata-chan!"

Naruto popped up behind, holding a lilac bundle.

"Oh! T-thanks, Naruto-kun. I-I'm sorry if I c-caused you a-any trouble."

Hinata thanked him again, bid him farewell, pulled it on, and stuck her hands in her pockets. They only met the smooth insides of the compartments. She began walking briskly to Neji's car, feeling exhausted and eager to reach home.

* * *

Naruto bent down to pick up the paper that had fallen from Hinata's jacket. He looked around and realized that Neji had already left. Curious, he examined the object in his hand. It was torn from what seemed to be an English notebook. The blonde pried it open, considering whether it was worth returning to Hinata.

His eyes trailed down to a list of bullet points.

_He's nice._

_He inspires me to do my best._

_He helped me believe in myself._

_He always puts people in a better mood._

_He never gives up._

_He's funny._

A short note was written down at the bottom; he caught his own name and skimmed it:

_Sakura-chan thinks that my reasons are valid. I guess they are. After all, I wouldn't have liked Naruto for so long if they weren't._

Naruto's mouth opened slightly as realization washed over him.

* * *

**Ah, clueless little Naruto. Plot twist! And cliffhanger. Aren't you proud of me? Review!**


	7. Of Bad Movies

**A/N: Finally. Er...enjoy?**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Haruno Sakura yawned happily and awoke. Midmorning light filtered through the cracks in her blinds and fell across her pale pink bedspread, giving it a darker glow. She grimaced as she felt the state of her morning mouth and, halfheartedly, for she was not eager to leave her soft sheets, rose and staggered to the bathroom down the hall. She had just finished brushing her teeth when her personal phone—the one on her bedside table—rang loud and shrill. Groaning slightly, Sakura balled up her fists and walked back out, picking up the phone and flopping down on her mussed bed.

"Hello?"

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled, although she made her voice fierce as it went through the phone. "It's _ten in the morning_, Naruto. What are you doing up? It's a Saturday, baka."

"I—I know."

The pink-haired teenager frowned at her friend's tone. She paused for a moment; it seemed as if the blond was trying to make up his mind about something. She spoke in a lower, more serious voice, unsettled by the silence.

"Naruto? Is everything okay?"

"Uh…yeah."

She was about to chastise him for lying, but Naruto spoke again. "I…found something yesterday. Something that belongs to…Hinata-chan."

Sakura's green eyes widened as she gripped the phone more tightly, but she soon regained her composure. "Er…what would that be?"

"You _know_ Hinata-chan likes me!"

Sakura paused for a moment, irked. "Baka! So what?"

"So? Why was she at the dance with Kiba?"

The gears of Sakura's mind hummed. "I don't know. Maybe she likes him, too."

"I _know_ she likes him. I read the other side of the sheet." Naruto's voice had actually risen several pitches with panic. Sakura sighed.

"Okay, calm down. So, she has a crush on you. Big deal, Naruto. You liked me! I liked Sasuke-kun!"

"Er…yeah. That's the thing, Sakura. I…think I might like Hinata-chan back."

On his side of the line, Naruto flinched as he heard Sakura groan.

* * *

Hinata was surprised to see Ino standing at the reception desk, arranging the customary bouquet. She waved to the blonde, who returned the greeting with equal enthusiasm.

"I-Ino-chan! W-what are y-you doing h-here?"

The Yamanaka rolled her eyes. "Why, it's great to see you, too, Hinata." Her smile widened. "I just came down here to deliver, but Shikamaru's out sick, so I'm subbing. Kind of without pay."

"Oh. T-that's nice, I guess."

The other girl shrugged. "It's fun, but I have to deal with Kiba." Hinata turned her head and caught sight of the boy dusting the chairs nearby, who waved and then shot Ino a malicious glare. Hinata's cheeks flushed; meanwhile, Lee emerged from a corridor and flashed a thumbs-up at the Hyuga.

"It is great to see you being so youthful, Hinata-san! Hana-san wishes for you to arrange files with Tenten."

Trying to suppress a sigh, Hinata nodded, moved away from Ino, and trailed over to a mundane corner of Hana's office where a brunette was crouching by stacks of paper. Tenten was too caught up in her work to formally acknowledge Hinata; she pointed at a stack to her right and a hanging file to her left, muttered "Alphabetical by last name", and resumed her task. Hinata sat herself down, moved the hanging folder closer to the pile, and began by sorting out all of the A's. Her mind wandered to more pleasant doings, like last night: Naruto, in his orange glory; Naruto's shoulder brushing hers on the bleacher; Kiba's lips so close…

She cut off that train of thought almost immediately as a shiver ran up her spine.

* * *

"So, how's your life going?"

Kiba didn't look up from his dusting. "Fine."

"Enjoyed the dance?"

Kiba gritted his teeth; he would never understand how Ino and Shikamaru even got along. She was the epitome of troublesome.

"It was fun."

"That it was." There was a note of expectation in the Yamanaka's voice that annoyed Kiba even more. Did she _have_ to act as if she knew everything? He swept his rag—moist and covered in disinfectant—across another sleek black plush cushion, then trailed it hastily along the armrests and legs of the chair. He almost grimaced at the layer of dark gray grime on the cloth.

Ino place the last flower in the bouquet and lifted the vase onto a side table. She placed the magazines sitting on the table into a neat pile and grabbed a second rag, sprayed some solution onto it, and set herself to wiping down the chairs Kiba hadn't finished yet. She took more time than he did, careful to keep stray dust from irritating her skin or landing on her clothes. The task mesmerized her; she continued, losing track of how many chairs she'd already done. Cleaning was therapeutic.

Ino ran the rag down the underside of another chair and shifted—and the entire right side of her body brushed something warm. Kiba's hair swept into her face as he turned his head, startled, and almost yelped. Ino shifted back involuntary.

"Sorry," he muttered. The blonde gulped, smirked, and nodded, standing up. "I'm going to go now."

"Thank goodness."

Ino snorted as she hurried away from the reception room.

* * *

"And so, I guess, she's pretty and smart and nice and dancing with her was fun and…_Sasuke_!" Naruto shot an angry glare at his best friend, who was staring, bored, at the television, which wasn't even on.

"Do I really have to listen to your problems, Naruto?" Sasuke muttered, shifting his gaze to the ceiling. "I don't know what you see in her."

"Wasn't I just telling you?"

"You were? Oh, right, my brain automatically switches off when you start talking. Keeps my brain cells from getting too damaged."

"Teme!" Naruto yelled, pouncing on Sasuke. The two of them tussled on the couch, fell off, bumped their heads on Sasuke's coffee table, landed on the floor, and broke a lamp. Ten minutes later, they emerged from the wreckage. Sasuke snorted and rubbed a bruise on his shin. "Dobe. Itachi's going to be mad when he finds out we broke his favorite vase. Again."

Naruto grinned sheepishly and leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder. "So, now that we've beaten each other adequately, can we please discuss this like men?"

Sasuke snorted, defeated. Naruto lifted his head up and focused his eyes on his hands.

"I've never really liked a girl before…well, you know, I liked Sakura-chan, but that was a while ago. That's not to say that I don't like her now…but it's gotten to being more of a sister thing, you know? And…Hinata…I don't know. I want to give her a chance."

Sasuke yawned. "What about Kiba?"

"Hinata likes me more, and I can't say I like Kiba. Too full of himself."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk."

"True. I hang out with you. Well, anyway, Kiba never liked me either. I guess maybe it's because Hinata likes me and he likes her? Or maybe Hinata likes him and he likes her and he thinks I'm in the way? Or maybe Kiba likes Ino and Hinata likes Kiba and Hinata is pretending to like me to get Kiba even though Ino likes you…"

"And Neji's crushing on Gaara who's crushing on Iruka-sensei who's crushing on Tsunade-sama," Sasuke deadpanned. "Seriously, dobe, can you say _anything_ that makes _sense_?"

Naruto was silent and thoughtful for a moment. "Neji likes Gaara?"

* * *

Hinata grinned when she caught sight of who was waiting for her outside the clinic. Kurenai-sensei hugged the Hyuga when the girl approached her and planted a kiss on her student's forehead. "It's great to see you, Hinata-chan."

"Y-you too, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata replied warmly. Even though Kurenai taught one of her classes, Hinata didn't see much of her nowadays. The crimson-eyed woman raised a hand to ruffle Hinata's hair but stopped, her red lips stretching wider.

"I see you every day, but you look even taller up close! You've grown so much since you were in elementary school…" She placed a hand on the younger's shoulder and jingled her car keys. "So, what do you want to do? We've got a whole day, courtesy of Hyuga-sama."

Hinata giggled and hoisted herself up to the passenger seat of the car. "Um…c-can we g-go see a m-movie?"

"Sure. Which one?"

Hinata forced in a breath and tapped her fingers together, contemplating. "W-well, I r-really don't k-know what's p-playing, so y-you can c-choose, K-Kurenai-sensei."

The older woman nodded, taking a right turn past the line of shops that were down the road from the clinic. She turned into the shopping complex where Hinata had seen Naruto yesterday and pulled her keys out, opening the door. The Hyuga quickly unbuckled her seat belt and pushed open the door, having to job slightly to reach her teacher's side. Kurenai shook her mane of curly hair and seemingly resisted holding Hinata's hand as they traversed the parking lot. She pulled her wallet out of her jacket as they fell into the shortest line at the theater and craned her neck up to see the titles listed.

"Umm…how about that new one about the ninja village that gets attacked and those two boys from that anime fight against some guy?" Kurenai suggested. Hinata held back a grimace. Kurenai had a love of cheap animated action movies, although she didn't really seem the type, but Hinata couldn't stand them. "Uh, s-sure."

A smile tugging at the elder's lips gave away her joke as she turned to examine the movies that fit more to her companion's tastes. They selected a romance about a teenage boy who took in a runaway girl he found on his doorstep, and Kurenai, much against Hinata's wishes, bought them both dango, soda and candy. They settled into the seats of the theater and the Hyuga allowed herself to relax. The movie was cliché and the acting was terrible. She couldn't help but feel annoyed.

It had come to the part where the girl had left the boy's house when her childhood crush had come, requesting her to return home; she had held his hand, mortified, as she walked silently down the white halls of her home with the unblinking, cold stares of her family trained on her every move. Finally, the girl's father and brother had come and apologized for driving her away. The girl moved back in, and the movie sped up in time, showing flashes of her life. For the first few years she was happy, but then the mistreatment of the girl began again. After five years, unable to tolerate her abuse, the girl found the boy's new address in a phone book and knocked on his door. His girlfriend answered.

By this point, Kurenai, who had nearly fallen asleep, rolled her eyes contemptuously and stood up to refill the tub of popcorn she'd gone to buy fifteen minutes ago. Hinata, slightly dazed by the bright lights flashing in her sensitive eyes, blinked at her empty seat and jumped slightly at the sensation of her cell phone vibrating against her leg. Conscious of the theater's rules, she inched it up just far enough to be able to read the name on her LCD panel.

_Uzumaki Naruto_

Heat crept through Hinata's body and pooled together in a sea of red on her face. Hoping the chatter in the theater was enough to conceal her conversation, she timidly eased the phone out and flipped it open.

"H-hello?"

"Hi, Hinata-chan. It's…Naruto."

"N-Naruto-kun! H-hi."

She could hear him taking a deep breath on the other side of the line, and barely had any time to brace herself before he unleashed a tidal wave of words.

"Well I know I shouldn't have looked at the note but I was just seeing if you'd want it back and even then I really shouldn't have read it but I did and now I know that you like me and I should probably turn you down but I think I might like you too and if you really do like me and that was the truth then could you go out with me? But if you don't really like me and you like Kiba or Shino or Neji likes Gaara—I mean…er…"

"N-Neji-nii-san likes G-Gaara-kun?"

"What? I mean, no! I don't know!"

"…Oh."

The conversation lapsed into awkward silence as Hinata tried to make sense of what the blonde had said to her. It had begun to sink in, and she found herself grinning as she prepared to answer.

"Y-yes."

"Oh." Naruto seemed somewhere between surprised and relieved. "Um, well, then…"

Hinata didn't speak, allowing herself to relish the quiet that had developed between them. Finally, Naruto spoke again.

"How about tomorrow? I—I'll call you."

"S-sure," Hinata answered meekly. She flipped off her cell phone and tried to focus on the images on the screen. She failed, but the movie didn't seem as bad as it had before.

* * *

**Review?**


	8. Double Date?

**A/N: This chapter was fun. Seriously. When I have the drive to write two thousand words in a day, you know I enjoyed it. Some NejiTen too...yes, I admit it, I kind of like this pairing. And NaruHina. Another one of my masochistic endeavors (I don't like NaruHina much). However, this _is_ fanfiction, so we can all go on knowing that the NaruHina won't last too long. Enjoy!!  
**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is copyright Masashi Kishimoto.**

"You need to learn to drive," Neji muttered, somewhat ill-tempered. "I can't keep dropping you off wherever you feel like going."

Hinata took a moment to process her cousin before turning red. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, N-Neji-nii-san!"

He rolled his eyes; most people found the action hard to recognize, but as a Hyuga Hinata could decipher the slight movements. She opened the car door and headed for the entrance to the park; Neji accompanied her. She turned to look at him, surprised.

"Y-you're coming?"

"Do you think Hiashi-sama would allow you to wander around in the park alone with a boy he doesn't like to begin with?"

Hinata allowed herself to feel relieved; although she'd like some time alone with Naruto, Neji might make the date less awkward. Then she cringed. Neji did not make things _less_ awkward.

"So that Naruto doesn't think I'm stalking him, or you, I brought a girl along. She should be meeting us sometime soon," Neji added, deceptively blasé. Hinata's lips quirked up.

"Who?" She already knew the answer.

"Tenten," he said, offhandedly. Hinata giggled and, for once, didn't stop at Neji's angry glare.

"As _friends_," he coldly clarified. Hinata headed to the bench where they'd agreed to meet and sat down, hugging her jacket closer to her body. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stared into the distance, willing Naruto's carefree figure to appear. She didn't realize that Tenten had arrived until Neji stood up on the bench to make room for her.

"Hey, Hinata. So, date with Naruto-kun?" The older girl's tone was teasing.

"H-hi, T-Tenten." Hinata offered her a shy smile. Tenten leaned back into the bench and raised a questioning eyebrow to Neji, who merely shrugged.

Suddenly, Hinata felt extremely out of place. The frigid tolerance and slight companionship Neji granted her and the sparse conversation Tenten provided at work was nothing against what the two of them shared. Even if they weren't dating, they were friends in a deeper sense than Hinata had ever experienced. They _understood_ each other in the way that Kurenai and Asuma did, or, platonically, Shikamaru and Chouji. Even Sakura and Ino were closer to each other than Hinata could ever hope to be to either of them.

She began to feel very alone.

As if on cue, Naruto appeared, panting and flushed red. He grinned as an apology for his tardiness—"Slept in, the stupid alarm clock broke again"—and waved to Tenten and Neji. Hinata stood up and greeted him quietly; he laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the cloudy skies. "So, what do you want to do?"

"U-um, w-whatever y-you w-want," Hinata supplied. Tenten looked around. "We could just take a walk. What do you think, Neji?"

The older Hyuga shrugged. Tenten smirked, her eyebrows rising as she caught a flash of purple. "Hey, is that the girl who works at the flower shop?"

Hinata and Naruto craned their necks and squinted.

"Y-yeah, I t-think so. S-she said h-her f-family was d-doing a c-charity planting t-thing around t-town."

"That's nice," Tenten said dully, but headed towards the group nonetheless. Ino turned around as they approached and waved them over; her hair was in a knot atop her head and a few strands of pale blonde cascaded down her face. She was dressed in a Yamanaka Flower Shop sweatshirt, denim shorts, and boots; normally, she would have been complaining about her attire, but she seemed more cheerful than usual today.

"Hey, Hinata, Naruto-kun! You too, Tenten-senpai, Neji-senpai. Double date?"

"Sort of," Naruto answered. Ino called over to someone several feet to her right. "Hey! Forehead! Lee-kun! We've got company!"

Sakura turned, her face displaying streaks of brown dirt; Lee broke away from a heated debate with the boy next to him about who could plant the most flowers in a minute to stand up and congratulate Neji and Tenten on the youthfulness of their 'relationship'. Sakura pushed a pink set of bangs away from her eyes with a gloved hand and smiled when Naruto greeted her.

"Enjoying yourself, Hinata-chan?"

"Y-yeah," Hinata said. Ino turned away to pat dirt onto a tulip bulb. "You can join us if you want."

"No thanks," Tenten said, smirking. "You all can do the dirty work."

"Your loss!"

Neji allowed the corners of his mouth to turn upwards as the group headed towards the adjoining wooded area. In a small clearing was a pond with migrating geese and ducks swimming through it, a makeshift pier-like deck stretching nearly halfway across. Naruto cautiously took Hinata's hand and led her to the end, where they sat down with their knees drawn up to their chests. Neji and Tenten remained on the shore.

"This is a nice place, isn't it?" Naruto casually tossed a rock into the water, watching the ripples increase in size. Hinata nodded, blushing and unsure of what to say.

"So, um, have you been here before?"

"N-no."

"Oh. Well, it's really cool. Sasuke and I come here a lot over the summer, when it's hot enough and they let us swim around." He leaned back. "I really shouldn't come with him, though. I always get pushed into the water. Bastard."

Hinata giggled.

"Of course, when I come with Sakura-chan, I still get shoved in, because I'll say something out of line and she'll punch me straight into the pond." Naruto grinned. "You go anywhere with your friends?"

Hinata tapped her forefingers together. "I-I d-don't have m-much f-free t-time."

Naruto lifted his wet foot and leaned onto his back, flinching at the cold wood. "Really?"

Hinata nodded again.

"Oh, well, that sucks." They lapsed into silence for a moment before Hinata spoke.

"A-are you d-doing anything o-over s-spring break?"

"No. Just staying here. Uh…what about you?"

"N-nothing. M-my d-dad n-needs to w-work."

"Oh."

"Y-yeah."

The awkwardness between them was only shattered when Tenten called and asked if they were interested in lunch. Naruto leapt up immediately and ran, Hinata panting a little to keep up with him. The last few moments kept replaying in her head, each repetition a little more painful to remember than the last. She'd never been social, but that was just…

She couldn't keep up with him, he didn't have the patience for her, and they had _nothing_ in common. Naruto was everything she'd wanted to be, but why in the world would he want to even be around her? Her eyes began to sting, and she hastily blinked tears away.

Neji was already heading towards the trail that led away from the pond and all three of them had to jog to catch up with where he was. He turned to Naruto and Hinata politely.

"Where would you like to eat?"

Hinata quickly swallowed the lump in her throat and rubbed her eyes, hoping that the others would attribute it to the chill. When Naruto said nothing, she gathered her courage.

"N-Naruto-kun l-likes r-ramen, r-right?"

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. Tenten groaned, rolling her eyes. "This is your first date, okay? Have some variety!"

"N-no, that's f-fine," Hinata whispered. Neji shrugged; they had arrived at the parking lot. He elegantly searched through his pocket, withdrawing the keys, and with a beep the car blinked to life.

"Ramen, then." Regally, he opened the door and, exchanging another smirk with this brunette friend, pushed the keys into the ignition. Hinata and Naruto took the back seat, granting the older Tenten permission to ride shotgun.

Neji immediately turned on the radio to his favorite news station, and Hinata felt relieved at the lack of need for conversation. However, without immediate distractions, the moment at the pier played over again, and tears once more came to her eyes. _This is stupid_, she told herself. _Nothing bad happened! It was perfectly normal! Isn't this what you wanted?_

Tears welled up again and she bit her lip, cursing her lack of fortitude. She was weak, so _weak_! That was the reason she'd gravitated towards the blonde boy sitting now to her right: she was weak and she didn't have the determination to get stronger. He did, he always had.

It occurred to her that, suddenly, her little teenage dilemma had become a whole lot bigger.

* * *

The ramen joint, Ichiraku's, was Naruto's favorite and in convenient proximity to the park where they'd been; it took no more than five minutes to arrive. Naruto, ever eager, leapt out of the car and ran to the door. Hinata dried what tears had leaked out of her eyes on a sleeve and followed. She heard a curse behind her; Neji was rummaging through his pockets for something. Tenten appeared concerned, but the boy waved her away and she rushed to the door and into the warmth of the building.

"W-what are you looking f-for, N-Neji-nii-san?" Hinata felt it proper to inquire after the missing object.

"Wallet," he muttered.

"T-that's f-fine. I-I'll pay f-for everyone."

"Everyone's paying for themselves, Hinata-sama," Neji commented coldly, "Including me."

Hinata swallowed and bit her lip. A pause lingered and Neji let out a grunt of satisfaction as he came out of a very uncomfortable-looking position with his head stuck halfway under the seat, wallet in hand.

Hinata chanced a look into the restaurant's window and saw Naruto and Tenten chatting casually. He could even get along with the prickly junior better than he did with Hinata. In fact, Naruto got along with _everybody_; even Sasuke and Neji liked him.

Everybody except for her: she'd never been loud enough to warrant the same attention from him that everyone else received. A tear trickled down her face; horrified, Hinata quickly wiped it away.

Neji locked the car again and turned around in time to catch the action. He walked up to her, leaving the customary amount of room, and questioned her distantly.

"Are you all right?"

Hinata didn't speak. She saw Tenten smack Naruto in the ramen joint, and he laughed in a way she'd never made him laugh. The Hyuga let out a strangled cry and grabbed Neji's shoulders, burying her face in his chest.

The older boy remained in shock for a moment and before he had time to react his cousin had withdrawn, her face flushed red.

"I…I'm s-sorry, N-Neji-nii-san." Shoving a tuft of hair from her face, Hinata offered up a false smile and pulled at the door, holding it open for him timidly. Neji grabbed the outside knob and waved her inside.

As the door swung closed and the last of the warmth that had escaped was replaced by the heater, Neji chuckled, bemused.

For the first time in a long time, he actually felt like Hinata's nii-san.

* * *

After having devoured his third bowl of ramen, Naruto eyed Hinata from across their booth and smiled sheepishly.

"Look, I'm really sorry about looking at the note."

Hinata's eyes widened and she stammered. "Oh! N-no, N-Naruto-kun! I-I'm n-not m-mad or a-anything." She took a deep breath. "A-actually, I-I'm s-sort of g-glad a-about it." She offered up a shy smile and picked up a noodle with her chopsticks. "I-I g-get free r-ramen."

Naruto's laughter boomed through the establishment; Neji and Tenten turned from their table nearby, rolled their eyes, and continued eating.

"Well, then we have at least one interest in common." Naruto blinked and Hinata was reminded forcefully of Kiba.

"I-I'm s-sure w-we h-have m-more," she answered, feeling better at this turn of events.

Naruto nodded his agreement and tackled another bowl. He polished it off and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "So…you don't have much free time. What do you do out of school?"

"W-work, m-mostly."

"Um…the place that Kiba's sister owns, right? Veterinary clinic?"

Hinata nodded and picked up another clump of ramen. "T-Tenten, L-Lee-san a-and S-Shikamaru-kun w-work t-there too. A-and K-Kiba-kun, of course." She muttered the last part quickly.

"I've seen Ino-chan there a lot, too."

Hinata looked up, confused, and then recalled her friend's presence on Saturday. "Y-yeah, I g-guess H-Hana-san j-just needs h-help w-with her f-flowers."

Naruto laughed. "I think it's not just Hana-san who likes having her around."

Hinata's eyes shifted in confusion for a moment before she giggled. "Y-you t-think S-Shikamaru-kun l-likes Ino?"

Naruto eyes widened and he returned to his ramen, smiling falsely. His answer was a bit too nonchalant to be truthful.

"Well, uh, you never know!"

* * *

**Review, please! :)**


	9. Tattoo

**A/N: Ah! Late chapter! Sorry. Not like you guys probably noticed, though :P**

**And the plot thickens! Yes. Fun.  
**

**Warnings: Even though I'm curbing swear words in this fic, let's just say a certain someone has needs to wash her mouth out in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is copyright Masashi Kishimoto.  
**

* * *

"Good morning, Nana-chan!"

A smile broke onto Hinata's face as Kiba waved wildly from his desk. A couple more students entered the class and groaned; Kakashi was, as always, not there yet. Hinata muttered a reply to the other boy, blushing, and walked towards her desk, which was towards the window, away from the door, and somewhere in the middle next to Shino's. Kiba's rough hand brushed Hinata's arm as she went by; the Hyuga blinked and tried not to turn red, stopping. Kiba grinned. "Mondays suck, don't they?"

Hinata giggled; her classmate looked as if he'd just crawled out of bed. "Y-yeah."

"Uh, so, how was your weekend?"

"I-it was o-okay."

"How was your date?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she suppressed a shiver before turning away slightly and tapping her forefingers together. "I-it was f-fun."

Kiba let out an awkward chuckle and nodded. "Uh, yeah. That's good. We should all double sometime."

Dark hair swished as Hinata turned her head quickly; she almost met Kiba's eyes before regaining her composure. "O-oh. Y-you have a g-girlfriend?"

Kiba's grin faltered for a moment and his eyes shifted. "Uh…I-Ino didn't tell you? We're going out now!"

Hinata took in a sharp breath before pursing her lips, casting down her gaze, and fidgeting again. A few awkward moments passed before she realized that she should say something.

_Naruto-kun wasn't talking about Shikamaru-kun, was he?_ She couldn't help but be surprised that she hadn't seen the attraction between Kiba and Ino earlier.

"Oh! T-that's r-really n-nice. Y-yeah, I h-haven't talked t-to I-Ino s-since F-Friday, so…" Hinata trailed off and forced a shallow smile onto her face before hearing the Kakashi's footsteps outside and hurrying over to her own desk. Shino had his nose in a book; she muttered a hello and pulled out her homework.

She was happy for Kiba and Ino. Really. She'd just reacted that way because she was…surprised. Yes. And maybe a little protective of Ino, because Ino was her friend. And that feeling in the pit of her stomach probably meant she'd over-eaten this morning, because it wasn't as if she was…sad about it or anything. She had Naruto. She _liked_ Naruto.

Hinata decided that maybe she'd messed up on the factorization of problem 43 and reworked it meticulously, taking all of the long routes instead of the shortcuts and triple-checking. It wasn't until Kakashi arrived that she realized she'd gotten three different answers.

* * *

"Ah! What a youthful victory!" Gai-sensei's voice grew choked as he shouted into his megaphone. The sound echoed around the small gym room, causing the students to wince. Sobs reverberated as the gym teacher continued his passionate monologue.

"Children! It is spring, the time of new beginnings! This is the time for friendships to be forged, struggles to be overcome, true love to blossom! Do not waste your youth! This is a beautiful spectacle…Sasuke-kun, what glorious technique! Suigetsu-kun, what a youthful defense! Naruto-kun, what a lovely…er…" Gai took a moment to assess the dent in his floor before clearing his throat and continuing. "What a lovely…nosedive."

The blond glared at the green-suited man from over his ice pack. Gai went through the rest of the team, commending them each on their youthful performance, and then dismissed them to the bleachers, calling up the next group. A call of "but the truly youthful, such as my youthful student Lee, would spend this precious time training!" rang in the air.

Ino sat down next to Kiba on the bleachers, smoothing down her gym shorts and offering him a smile. "Hey, Kiba-kun," she said sweetly.

"Shove off."

"Aww! That's no way to treat your _girlfriend_."

Kiba's eyes flashed with panic before resignation set in. He heaved a sigh and leaned back, watching the volleyball bounce around the court. "All right. Who told you?"

"As I recall, you said it quite loudly. But Chouji mentioned it in passing."

Kiba yawned, exposing his abnormally large canines, and contemplated Ino with a sidelong glare. He finally seemed to settle for ignoring her. Ino watched him, her gaze calculated. She shook a few blond hairs from her face before setting her lips into a thin, serious line.

"Okay, Kiba-kun, what the heck are you playing at?"

When he didn't respond, her blue eyes darkened.

"The last thing Hinata needs right now is some _bastard_ messing with her head. She's just nabbed the boy she's crushed on for three years, you asshole! If you wanted her, you could have fucking well spoken up a little quicker!"

Kiba opened his mouth to interrupt the Yamanaka's tirade, but Ino cut him off. "As I recall, you kissed _her_, didn't you? You danced with _her_, didn't you? _Her_, not _me_! So why do I have to get dragged into this mess? And worse, why am I on _your_ side?"

Kiba matched his heated glare to Ino's, ignoring the curious stares of their classmates. "What if I don't _like_ Hinata-san, then what?"

Ino snorted, waving a hand in front of his face. "Yeah, right."

With a quick rustle, Kiba grabbed Ino's arm and lowered it slowly. Ino didn't break her gaze, but she let her hand go limp. His voice grew low and serious.

"Ino…do you wish it had been you?"

The silence between them was punctuated with the scraping of shoes against wood, the thump of the volleyball, and the energetic cheering of Gai-sensei. Seconds ticked by, and Ino blinked rapidly.

"Go away."

Kiba didn't acknowledge her words outwardly, but something changed in the depths of his eyes. Ino leapt up, wrenching her arm from his loose grip, and made as if to leave. Kiba stood experimentally.

The Yamanaka whirled around, landed the Inuzuka a solid punch in the face, and walked away.

* * *

"Hinata? _Hinata_? Hinata!"

The Hyuga snapped out of her daze and blushed at Sakura, who was watching her from across the art table with a worried expression. "Hinata-chan…are you okay?"

Hinata took a moment to comprehend Sakura's words before gulping and nodding. "Y-yeah! I'm f-fine, Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired girl raised an eyebrow but shrugged, returning to her sketching. Next to her, Sai had already produced several masterpieces, which pleased the teacher to no end. Sasuke was seated next to Hinata, occasionally shooting angry glares at his table group. Hinata stole a glance at his sketch and then at Sai's, feeling almost sorry for the Uchiha. It must feel bad to be outdone in something when he was good at everything.

_It was probably worse to be outdone at the only thing you were good at by someone who was good at everything, though._

Sai was the only cheerful person at the table, and looked at Hinata and smiled falsely. "Why don't we all go to the mall tonight?"

Sakura shot Sai a glare and kicked him under the table. His expression didn't change, although he muttered something about ugly fat girls which earned him another kick.

"Why would you want to do that?" Sasuke muttered, disinterested, with a clear tone of malice in his voice. The condescension only made Sai smile wider.

"Hinata seems sad, and when people are sad, they like to go out and do enjoyable things which cheer them up. I read it in a book."

Sakura kicked him again, but seemed to consider his suggestion. Finally, she tapped the table, gaining her friend's attention.

"That's actually not a half bad idea. I know it's only Monday, Hinata-chan, but why don't you just hang out with Lee-kun and me this afternoon? Spring vacation's not far off, so we won't be getting much more homework."

Hinata looked up and smiled falsely. "Um, I think—"

Sakura's expression softened. "It would be nice with Naruto, too. And why don't you tag along, Sasuke-kun?"

Sai smiled again and continued his sketching. Hinata took a breath and gave in; Sasuke shrugged and said he'd think about it. Sakura seemed pleased with the change of plans and leaned back, putting the finishing touches on the likeness of a plant that sat in front of her.

* * *

"O-otou-san?"

"Yes, Hinata-chan?" Hiashi turned away from the bright red A scribbled on Hanabi's science report, looking slightly annoyed.

"H-here's my p-progress r-report. Y-you have t-to sign it." Hinata pushed the envelope at her father's face, not daring to look up. She hadn't had the courage to check her grades on the ride home, and it didn't help much that Neji had passed every class with flying colors. Hiashi furrowed his eyebrows, handed Hanabi her report back, and dismissed his youngest daughter. He took the envelope cautiously from Hinata's outstretched hand and ripped it open, examining the text. The crease on his forehead grew even deeper.

"Hinata," he said coldly. The Hyuga's breath hitched in her throat; her insides turned to ice.

"Y-yes?"

"You've improved."

Lavender eyes widened as Hinata held back a sigh of relief. She nodded, grateful, and watched happily as Hiashi pulled out a pen and signed the paper. Just as she was about to bow her farewell, his voice stopped her.

"Hinata-chan, I think it would be wise for you to consider Suna." The tone of Hiashi's voice left little leeway.

"I'm already filling out applications and recommendations for Hanabi. However, your grades are substantially higher, your math and science is strong; all of your teachers say you're gifted. Sunagakure Academy is a very prestigious school. The next Hyuga heir will attend it."

Hinata's lips parted slightly. "H-Hyuga h-heir?" The room seemed to be spinning around her.

For the first time in a long time, Hiashi smiled genuinely at his daughter. He moved forward and ran a hand almost fondly through her hair.

"You _are_ my firstborn child, Hinata."

The Hyuga bit her tongue, wondering if she was dreaming. Her father, acknowledging her? It took quite a bit of mental warring for her to convince herself that this was indeed Hiashi, and not his twin returned from the dead.

Sunagakure Academy—though the Hyuga family was native to Konoha, every clan head had attended high school in the desert city since the school's conception. It wasn't as if Konoha's high school was _bad_—but Suna's was far superior. Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha had attended it. And every generation, one Hyuga, the Hyuga who would rule the family and be sole heir to its massive fortune, graduated from Suna Academy. And ever since Hinata had failed the seventh grade, her slot had been handed to her younger sister.

She'd managed to forget it—but maybe she never really had.

Going to Suna would guarantee Hinata the Hyugas' money, business, power, house, name, leadership, authority, reputation—

She stopped that train of thought right there. She wasn't greedy. She didn't want this. Of course, logically, it was the right thing to do—and as the first child, she should have already been attending.

She noticed that Hiashi was watching her carefully.

"Hinata-chan, you should be very aware of what you will be relinquishing if you let this opportunity go."

The head of the family was distracted by the sound of the elevator dinging and of Neji stepping into the hall.

"Neji-kun, come here." Hinata watched her cousin stem his angry reply and approach his uncle, almost fearfully. Hiashi ran his eyes over the boy's frame, finally settling his eyes on Neji's forehead. It had a piece of white cloth wrapped around it.

"Neji-kun, expose it," he said calmly.

Hinata felt her stomach lurch, and the intensity of Neji's emotionless gaze almost made her ill. Slowly, deliberately, he unwrapped the bindings, hands moving around his head in a hypnotic motion. He let the white cloth fall to the ground, and a series of long, thin green tattoos on his forehead were exposed. To Hinata, they looked like scars.

It made bile rise in her throat.

Hiashi looked at her almost pityingly. "Hinata," he said softly, "I will understand if you wish to stay here. But, please, remember. This is a clan—a family, but also an operation. You must take what is yours or suffer the consequences."

Hinata would have liked to think that it was the look of pride in Hiashi's eyes as he watched her, almost unconsciously, brush her own forehead, that made her waver in her resolution.

But Neji's cold eyes and the green lines on his pale, unmarred skin might have done it too.

**

* * *

Review, please? It's my birthday! Okay, well, it was. Five days ago, lol. Close enough :P**


	10. Mall Security

**A/N: Oh my. Inspiration for this chapter came from...Gilmore Girls. Yes. XD And because I can totally see this happening. Early chapter to make up for the week I missed (I'll try and get another one up before Saturday, for this week, too).  
**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is copyright Masashi Kishimoto.  
**

* * *

Ino sighed as she approached Asuma-sensei's classroom and, for about the hundredth time, considered ditching her detention. Kiba had deserved that smack, after all. And for all the bastardly things he'd done over the past…well, since she'd started to get to know him, he should probably have been in that room instead of her.

She groaned as she turned the corner, watching Asuma take a drag of his cigarette as motioned her towards his door. Resigned, the blond entered; the room was empty, except for Suigetsu, Gaara, and—surprise of all surprises—Kiba.

Suigetsu grinned toothily at her as she sat down next to him and put on his best prison drawl. "So, sugar, what are you in for?"

"Punching in the head of the last guy who tried to sweet-talk me," she answered coldly, smirking a little when she realized it was true. Suigetsu smiled and retreated back to his own desk, chewing on the back of a pencil. Kiba was very obviously ignoring her, which didn't surprise Ino, especially considering that he'd accepted the "apology" she'd been forced to give him in the principal's office and then religiously avoided her all day.

Not that Ino particularly wanted to see him. This was the first mark on her perfect record, dress code violations aside.

Gaara blinked his eyebrow-less eyes at her and continued doing his homework. The blonde decided to follow his example, and pulled out her science notes and worksheet. Suddenly, the shrill ring of a cell phone echoed through the classroom.

Everyone stopped dead.

Ino's hand went down to her back pocket, but she sighed in relief when she realized it wasn't her ringtone. Suigetsu was mortified, acting as if he hadn't heard; Gaara didn't bother to check, since his was obviously off. Kiba fumbled around for a bit, finally finding his own phone and setting it to vibrate.

Asuma flipped his phone open.

"Sorry, I can't talk; I'm supervising deten—" His voice stopped short. When he spoke again, it was very quiet.

"Oh."

The person on the other end of the line seemed to grow louder, and Asuma opened his mouth defensively. "I'm sorry! Yes, of course—I'll be there right away." The voice became softer.

"No, it's fine. Really. Yes." Asuma disconnected, looking confused, and his eyes darted around the room.

"Stay here. You're out at five." Without looking back, he rushed away.

"Asuma-sensei?" Ino called after him, somewhat worried. He was her favorite teacher, and he'd never acted like that before…

Suigetsu stood up. "Whoo! Now I can finally get out of here."

Wordlessly, the other three grabbed their bags and exited the room. Gaara shut the door behind him.

* * *

Sakura, Lee and Sai were waiting in the front of the north entrance; Sakura called out to two others as they approached—Naruto and Sasuke.

"Where's Hinata?" Sai inquired politely. Sasuke, who leaned onto a wall far away from the other, glared. Sakura looked worried. "I don't know."

"Maybe she needs to do some youthful studying," Lee offered. Naruto furrowed his brows. His pink-haired friend pulled out her cell phone and looked at it, wondering whether to call.

A head of almost-purple hair bobbed into view.

"Hinata-chan!" Sakura beckoned her cordially, and Naruto gave her an awkward grin and spirited greeting. Sai smiled, and Lee began to cry manly, youthful tears of joy at her arrival. Sasuke just glared. Naruto smacked him.

"Teme, say something! That's not polite."

"As I recall, you didn't say anything either."

"Yeah, I did!"

"It doesn't count if it makes little girls cry."

"At least my _face_ isn't enough to make little girls cry!"

"Dobe."

"What did you call me?"

"I call it like I see it."

"Teme!"

Sasuke turned his glare onto Naruto. The blond grinned cheekily. "Too afraid to retaliate…_Sasuke-chan_?"

The boy's eyes flashed red as he launched himself at Naruto. The blond squeaked in shock as he was bowled over and right into a potted plant. Sakura screeched and leapt down, trying to pry the two apart. Lee leapt in at her side, ready to protect his love from danger. Sai looked bemused but leaned down to grab Sasuke's collar. Hinata rushed over, stuttering but still trying to break up the fight.

Naruto was bleeding from several places; a black eye was forming quickly, and there was dirt in his hair. Sakura and Sai had managed to drag Sasuke off of him; the Uchiha was every bit as beat up.

And that was how mall security discovered them.

A cheerful-looking man with a blue bandanna wrapped around his head, messy brunette spikes spilling around his face, and a small beard flashed a security badge and tried to look serious.

"Kids, no fighting in a public place! Or at all," he added as an afterthought.

His partner, who had a bandage wrapped around his nose and a pointy sort of afro that could be compared to Shino on a bad hair day, furrowed his eyebrows. "All right, kids, come with us. You're disturbing the peace. Hands up!"

Naruto ignored their orders and waved. "Hey, Izumo! Kotetsu! Haven't seen you in a while, huh?"

Sakura elbowed him and smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, Kamizuki-san, Hagane-san. We didn't mean anything by it."

"They couldn't control the sexual tension," Sai chirped in cheerfully.

Hinata turned red as Sakura held in a giggle. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Naruto raised a playful hand to punch Sai in the face. Hopefully, hard.

Izumo grabbed it. "You're inciting violence, guys. Sorry. Kotetsu, cuff 'em."

The other man enthusiastically grabbed both of Naruto's hands and pulled them behind the blond's back. Izumo did the same for Sasuke, and then proceeded to handcuff Sakura.

"My youthful Sakura-san did nothing wrong!" Lee leapt over at the other man, who smiled apologetically.

"You were loitering," Izumo deadpanned.

Kotetsu nodded, trying to conceal a grin. "Plus, this is the coolest thing we've done the whole time we've worked here." He clicked Lee's cuffs into place and ordered Hinata to turn around, which she did nervously and reluctantly.

"That's six. Aw, man, we rock!" The two adults slapped hands and pulled each other into a (very manly) hug. Izumo smiled. "All right, kids! Single file!"

Kotetsu shot a glare at an old lady who was walking by and ignoring the spectacle. "Move along, people! Nothing to see here!"

Meanwhile, Izumo was lecturing the miscreants.

"I know this is a difficult time in your lives—strange and wonderful things are happening to your bodies. You may feel urges—"

"Izumo-san, _please_ shut up," Sakura muttered. "It's bad enough that we got 'The Talk' from _Gai-sensei_."

Naruto and Sasuke shuddered. Lee began to cry youthful tears at the memory of that youthful moment.

Hinata, along with the other five teenagers, was shoved into a small white room. On one wall was a height chart, marked in meters. By the other was a Polaroid camera on a tripod. Sasuke cursed, leaning resignedly back.

"This is your fault, idiot."

"Well, it wouldn't have _happened_ if you had just said hi!"

"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't freaked out over me not saying hi!"

"Guys—" Sakura sounded cordial, but there was a malicious undertone that caused both boys to straighten their backs and stop talking.

Hinata wondered if she should smile for her mug shot.

* * *

Ino was about to head out of the school when her cell phone rang. She answered the call, noticing it was from Sakura, and kept on walking.

"Forehead?"

"I need to you break me out of jail."

Well, if it wasn't a day for surprising phone calls.

"The public indecency police finally get to you?" she inquired, teasing. Sakura snorted on the other end of the line.

"No, pig, that's your forte. Actually, Sasuke-kun and Naruto were disturbing the peace. There's no money involved or anything, and it's just mall security, you know, so…um, yeah."

The blonde seemed contemplative for a moment. "I don't mean to sound rude, Sakura-chan, but shouldn't your _parents_ be _bailing _you out?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. "Yeah, but…" she sighed. "They're not answering and I need to get to work. Please, Ino?"

The Yamanaka shrugged. "Um, yeah, fine. I was just leaving anyway. Who else is with you? Lee-san?"

"And Hinata and Sai."

"…Uh, all right. Yamanaka Ino to the rescue, billboard brow."

Ino fumbled in her purse for her keys just before she realized that Chouji's mom had dropped her off today. She cursed, turning around to examine her fellow escapees.

Gaara had already left; she was tempted to ask Suigetsu for a ride, but one glance at his motorcycle made her change her mind. She'd have to cling onto the guy for dear life.

And he'd enjoy it.

Of course, Ino's other option wasn't too great either. She reprimanded herself for even considering Kiba. He would have been the obvious choice just yesterday, but…

Suigetsu seemed to notice her train of thought and bared his overly sharp teeth at her. Ino made her decision.

"Kiba-kun?"

The Inuzuka turned around. "So, finally talking to me now?"

"You're one to talk. Finally acknowledging my existence, huh?" She curled her lip at him and hated the way her heart _still_ wanted to skip a beat. She tilted her head and infused her brattiest attitude into her glare. "I need a ride."

"Home?"

"To the mall."

Kiba's eyes widened in disbelief. He pushed his key into the car's keyhole and opened the door. "Do you _realize_ how spoiled you are?"

The Yamanaka bristled, hardly able to control the urge to give her classmate a second black eye.

"Forehead and a few others got busted by mall security. I have to do them a favor."

Kiba snorted. "Your friends can deal with their own problems, thanks."

Ino pushed her largest bang behind her ear, exposing a second wide blue eye.

"Hinata's there."

Kiba hesitated for hardly a moment before climbing into his car.

"Well, Naruto-kun can deal with that. He _is_ her boyfriend, after all." His voice had suddenly become very cold. The Yamanaka resisted the ever-growing urge to kill him.

"Sakura, Hinata, Sai, Lee and Sasuke are in jail and you _don't_ think Naruto was involved?" When he didn't answer, she bowed her head and flexed her muscles. It was now or never.

Kiba had no idea what hit him, but Ino's kick to the temple had him out cold. She pried the keys from his hand, buckled him into the passenger seat (it took a lot of willpower not to dump him in the middle of the parking lot—or, better yet, tie him to Suigetsu), and turned on the car. Adjusting the gearshift to reverse, she uttered a few choice words and hit the acceleration.

* * *

Hinata clutched her cell phone in her jacket pocket and stared miserably at the walls of the jail cell. She hadn't even known Konoha's local mall _had_ a jail cell, but here she was, in it, steel bars and all. Naruto was stammering out an apology to her sheepishly, and, although it cheered her up a bit, she couldn't bring herself to pay attention to what he was saying. Sasuke was at the opposite corner, brooding and nursing yet another bruise, this time on his temple (Sakura had _accidentally_ smashed Naruto and Sasuke's heads together).

"Oh, Gai-sensei…" Lee sniffed, tears still cascading down his face, standing up and reaching desperately through the bars. "I am sorry, Gai-sensei. I have failed you! I will never be able to live up this stain on the beauty of my youthful springtime…" He collapsed dramatically, his words turning to heart-wrenching sobs.

Sai was smiling in a corner.

_But otou-sama seemed so proud…he would be proud of me if I went. And the entire family—they'd look up to me. I'd be able to change things, wouldn't I? And I'd get a good education. I'm sure I'd love it there…_

Hinata stopped her thoughts, head pounding. More contemplation of _that_ was the last thing she needed.

Lee's cries fell silent as footsteps approached the cell. Sakura perked up immediately; she was the only one to do so. However, the residents of the cell couldn't help but look up at their visitor.

Everyone (except Sai) choked.

It was Shino.

**

* * *

**

**Review, please! Next chapter: the daring rescue. If you want any specific characters involved, don't hesitate to tell me.**

**(Will there be Akatsuki involvement? Hmm...I'm having too much fun with this XD)**


	11. Prison Break, part 1

**A/N: So sorry about the late chapter! I've had this on my computer for a week, just need a few more sentences...I really should have gotten a move on and posted. Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is copyright Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Warnings: Overuse of the F-word. (guess who?) Some cussing otherwise, but not much.  
**

* * *

Sakura had turned red and rushed over to the bars, sputtering. "_S-Shino-kun_? What the heck? Is this the best the pig can do?"

Naruto's eyes had widened and he'd paled considerably, holding back a coughing fit. Sasuke, who had seemed interested for a moment, sighed and leaned back onto the cell, resigned.

"Hello, Mr. Nudist," Sai said, nodding appreciatively at Shino's trench coat, hood and sunglasses. Naruto tried to kick him, but stopped, not bothering to stretch the extra three feet. Sakura shook her head as if to clear it and looked Shino straight in the sunglasses.

"Uh, so, what's the plan?"

Shino shrugged. "Ino-san told me to tell you to 'wait and see'."

Sakura edged closer to the bars, clenching her fist. "Tell me _now_!"

Shino quailed but held his silence, reaching a hand upwards to his high collar. Hinata watched it, not really paying attention as it twisted around his zipper.

The zipper pulled forwards and began to make a quiet hum…Naruto sat bolt upright, and every pair of eyes in the room were trained onto the zipper.

Were the rumors true? Was Aburame Shino really a flasher?

Naruto let out a strangled whimper as the zipper continued southward and exposed…

Spiky dark brown hair.

Shikamaru's pineapple-shaped ponytail emerged from the depths of Shino's jacket; the Nara stepped away from his partner in crime and dusted off his green vest.

"Troublesome," he muttered.

Hinata resisted the urge to let out a cheer as Shikamaru continued to mumble about being disturbed from his nap by loud troublesome women. Shino quickly zipped up his jacket again; if Hinata could have seen the skin on his face, she was sure it would have been tinged pink with embarrassment.

Shikamaru walked backward until he was standing at the center of the wall facing the cell and took a seat, knees slightly bent and feet up with the soles of his pink bunny slippers showing. He probably hadn't had the time—or the motivation—to change into proper shoes.

Narrow, dark eyes shifted, watching the room closely. The seconds ticked by in complete quiet until Shikamaru began to speak.

"According to my observations, the weakest point in those bars is the fourth bar to the left of the center. Seventy-two centimeters up, if we tapped with the correct oncoming velocity with something around the size of a stapler, it should snap."

His announcement was greeted with silence.

"Uh, o-or…" Hinata stood up and walked to the gate at the middle of the bars and reached a hand out to twist around the lock until she could see it. The Hyuga allowed herself a small, triumphant smile. It was the cheap kind that they sold at the grocery store and used on lockers at school. Feeling a little bit guilty, she ran her thumb down the reverse side and felt the scrape of a sticker.

"S-Shino-kun, I t-think the c-combination's on t-the b-back."

* * *

Ten minutes and six black eyes (two each for Naruto and Sasuke, one for Sai and Lee) later, all six of the miscreants plus Shino and Shikamaru were standing outside the previously locked cell.

"G-Gai-sensei! Not only have I wandered off the path of righteousness, I have refused to take my punishment as a worthy student of yours should!" Lee dropped to his knees, sobbing again. Sakura rolled her eyes, but schooled her expression into a sympathetic one as she squatted down to comfort her tearful boyfriend.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "He's almost as troublesome as a woman."

"Well, I think the view is nicer from outside the cell," Sai commented quietly. Sasuke gave him a sarcastic glare as Naruto began to inch towards the entrance Shino and Shikamaru had come from.

"We need a lookout," he said. "If we're going to get out—"

"Where's Ino?" Sakura said suddenly, as if the thought has just struck her. Shikamaru shrugged. "She dropped Shino-kun and me off at the front of the mall and told us to improvise."

"I should call her," Sakura mused, pulling out her cell phone. However, Naruto waved his arms wildly from his position by the door and dived for the gate, trying to wrench it open. However, he was too slow.

"Well, well! What do we have here?" A tall man with blue skin bared a row of pointy teeth and tugged at something on his back that looked suspiciously like a sword. Hinata couldn't hold back a scream as she back into the wall, knees shaking. Even Shikamaru looked intimidated. The man widened his grin and advanced.

"Run for it!" Naruto shouted, accompanying his announcement with a quick slide under the blue man's legs. Lee feinted, causing the man to stop blocking the entrance for a moment, and shoved Sasuke and Sakura through the small gap. Hinata stood frozen as Shino grabbed her arm and hurled her at the man, who moved back to catch her. The second of instability was all it took Shikamaru to shove the man out of the way and sprint out of the room, Hinata, Sai and Shino running after him.

"W-where…are…w-we g-going?" Hinata called out to Shino, who was running a few feet ahead of her, coat streaming out behind him like a wedding train. The boy simply turned around and, grabbing Hinata's elbow, ducked both of them behind an ice cream stand. The blue man ran right past them, struggling to keep up with Lee.

"Well, what have we got here, un?"

Hinata shrieked and almost backed into the ice cream cart when the voice sounded in her ear. She whirled her head around to see a man in his early twenties smiling evilly, blonde hair tied up in a gravity-defying ponytail. He looked vaguely familiar.

"I don't work here, but sometimes I…help out. Kisame no danna seems a little preoccupied at the moment, so I think I should pitch in, un."

Hinata tried to say something, but couldn't let out more than a strangled squeak. Shino looked almost panicked as he faced the man.

"D…Deidara-san?"

The man looked over to the boy and furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

Shino's mouth opened and closed; he swallowed as well before he gained the courage to speak.

"You own that art shop near Zetsu's Alternative Plants, don't you? I…" he paused, trying to think of something to say. Hinata overcame her shock just in time to fill in.

"S-Shino-kun loves t-that s-shop! He…he a-always stands b-by the w-window and…a-admires your w-work!"

"Yes!" Shino cut in. "It's amazing, especially the detail you put into the clay. I love your clay insects! They are truly…relics…to be cherished…forever."

"I prefer my art destroyed," Deidara said, glaring at the two teenagers. "The only beauty of art is in the moment before it explodes into nothingness—"

"Y-y-yes!" Hinata said quickly. "S-Shino-kun l-loves h-how you d-destroy b-bugs!"

Silence descended over the trio as Shino moved his lips, not saying anything. Hinata immediately regretted what she'd said, catching the look of horror that was creeping onto her peer's face.

"H-he likes t-the s-symbolism," she filled in. "O-of…t-the b-beauty of b-bugs. _R-right_, Shino-kun?"

"Yes," Shino managed to let out, his voicing seeming strangled. "Your work awes me. Your philosophy on art awes me."

"Really, un?" Deidara seemed delighted. "What's your favorite explosion, un?"

Shino gulped and looked around, wondering if there was an escape route available. "Er…that one you did…that week…with the, um, clay bird—"

"Ah…three-one-hundredths of an ounce of C2…just a little spark…really lighted up the place, didn't it?" Deidara's eyes had taken on a dreamy glow as he reminisced. "That was the day I lost my insurance. I set the place on fire, but all that didn't matter, un. No, the beauty of that _single moment_!"

"Exactly!" Shino interjected.

Deidara beamed. "So, do you want to come over to my shop sometime? I can show you how I do it firsthand!"

"That…would be…great," the Aburame said, trying to make his customary monotone more enthusiastic. "So…I have…to go now. _Now_."

"All right!" Deidara said, slapping Shino congenially on the back. "See ya, un!"

* * *

Shikamaru had managed to lose Izumo, who had been alerted of the breakout via Kisame's walkie-talkie. He began to walk more slowly, pulling his hair out of its ponytail and talking off his green vest that he wouldn't be as recognizable from a distance. He saw Hinata and Shino over behind the ice cream stand, but didn't act; they could probably handle it on their own.

"Hello, fucker, my name is Hidan and this is Kakuzu. We're here to fucking well educate you about the Jashinist faith."

"I'm sorry, I'm not interested," Shikamaru said, not paying much attention to the pitch. He let out a shocked yelp when he felt his hair being yanked.

"You're not _interested_? You're _not interested_?!?" The Nara's hair was pulled around until he faced the man who had spoken to him. He appeared quite young and wore an open shirt that was probably against the dress policy (it was still better than Sasuke in his rebellious days, though, Shikamaru thought.) His face had an expression that was scarier than Yamato-sensei's.

Despite himself, Shikamaru gulped.

"Listen to me now, fucker! You want to be fucking well damned, then fucking go be damned, but sit here and listen to how Jashin-sama could grant you fucking eternal life first, fucker!"

The man standing next to him, dark-skinned with a cloth over the bottom half of his face, held out a box.

"Donations, please."

"I…don't have any money."

Hidan knocked aside the collection box and pushed himself closer to Shikamaru, thrusting his necklace into the boy's face. It had a circular pendant attached with a triangle inside the circle.

"Now, listen, fucker. This is the fucking symbol of the great Lord Jashin-sama. You _worship_ this symbol, okay?"

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag."

"_Fucker!_ What did you say?"

The Nara paled. "That's amazing."

Hidan smiled. "That's good. Lesson two!" Just as he had turned around to retrieve what looked like a huge, blood red scythe, Shikamaru ducked under his legs and sprinted away, his bunny slippers nothing but a pink blur.

This was really too troublesome.

* * *

Sasuke crept a few steps ahead of Sakura, hugging the wall and glancing quickly down the corner to make sure the coast was clear. He shuffled ahead and then waited for the girl to catch up with him.

Sakura bit on her bottom lip. "Well, uh, Sasuke-kun, we should try to find the others."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we just get out?"

"No! Well, I mean…" she shrugged. "I need to find Lee-kun, and I'd feel bad leaving Hinata-chan…and Sai-kun, wherever he is."

The Uchiha sighed. He'd been looking forward to abandoning Naruto to the police, and Sai would just be a bonus. However, since Sakura was no longer hopelessly in love with him, he couldn't be guaranteed protection from her wrath, as the bump on his head demonstrated.

It was all Naruto's fault. Sometimes Sasuke seriously wondered what he was on when he started hanging out with Naruto.

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened and she tried to run back around the corner. It took Sasuke less than a second to react; he whirled around, ready to kick whoever it was in the nuts and get the hell out of there.

"Sasuke-kun…"

The youngest Uchiha gulped, struck immobile with terror.

"How…_good_…to see you."

**

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Review, please!**


	12. Prison Break, part 2

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is very very late...but I have an excuse! My computer died D: Anyway, this is pretty short, but I wanted to get it up, and I really couldn't stretch it on longer, so it's cut off in a good place, IMO.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Lee leaned against the wall of the small passage, ignoring the mop that was in a janitor cart right in front of him and covering whatever view an outside would have of him. Tears streamed down his face as he ranted to an inquisitive Sai.

"I must find her! Oh, my precious Sakura-san, how could I have left you? I have betrayed the spirit of youth!"

Sai blinked and chose an expression of mild concern. "I am sure Ugly will be fine…green-jumpsuit big-eyebrows bad-haircut"—there sure was a lot of material to nickname this guy with—"er…eyelashes no-fashion-sense-or-color-coordination—she's with Sasuke-kun."

"_Sasuke-kun!_" Lee let out a low growl. "He may take this opportunity to win the heart of my lovely Sakura-san!"

"I don't think that will happen," Sai said sagely. He was about to back up his claim when they both froze at the sound of footsteps and voices.

"I thought Kisame-kun would be more vigilant." A cold, disapproving male voice echoed down the empty hall.

"I'm sure he did the best that he could, Pein. Madara, however, may not see it that way." The tone of the woman speaking was controlled and even.

"Yes, well, it depends on what…mood…he's in. But he quite likes Kisame."

The woman's high heels clacked as she walked past the small detour where Sai and Lee were now crouching. The steady rhythm continued as the pair walked on in silence. Lee let out the breath he had been holding and pushed aside the janitor cart as quietly as possible. "I must find Sakura-san," he said, slipping out. Sai followed.

It was at this moment that they heard a shocked female voice yell, "Sasuke-kun!"

Lee paled. "Sakura-san!" He took off at a run in the same direction as the man and woman, ignoring them as he sprinted past.

A long-haired man with pale, almost white skin stood looking down on Sasuke as Sakura crouched by the corner. Sasuke gulped again and tried to back up, bumping into the girl behind him. Lee ran over to stand next to the other boy.

The man extended his tongue, and Lee noticed with morbid fascination just how long it was.

A shorter man with silver-rimmed glasses, dressed in purple, was at his side.

"There's a restraining order against you," Sasuke said, fighting to keep his voice even.

"Well, not a very warm welcome, was that now, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha let his eyes dart around almost frantically. The only exit was the large open window to his left…

"Orochimaru."

A man with numerous piercings and spiky orange hair appeared, a blue-haired woman in high heels next to him. Lee recognized his voice from earlier.

"Pein."

Suddenly, Naruto ran into the space, followed closely by Shikamaru. He caught his breath and gaped, pointing an accusing finger at Orochimaru.

"You!"

Pein exchanged a look with Konan but remained silent. Shino and Hinata appeared in the hallway, looking concerned, Deidara and Kisame nearby.

"I'm calling Madara-sama," Kisame said, pulling out his walkie-talkie. Konan made a move to grab the device. "Don't."

"You can't be sure if he'll be normal, un," Deidara said. After a pause, he patted his ponytail. "Well, he's never normal."

"We've apprehended the escapees," Kisame said clearly. After a static buzz, an excited voice answered.

"Really, really? I'll come and help! Zetsu-san says I'm a good boy!"

The adults in the hall, with the exception of Kabuto and Orochimaru, let out quiet collective groans. The latter smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"Well, I guess I can just take this one off your hands, Pein-san…"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. Pein snorted.

"Oh, no need, _Orochimaru-sama_. I will handle them…as God sees fit."

Hinata looked around, her insides clenching. She should have just stayed in the cell! What was she doing out here, anyway? What if they put her in a real jail…or worse? The Hyuga gulped and began fidgeting, her heart pounding against her ribs. The world began to fade around her, from the group of people in the hall to the open window directly behind her, where a pickup truck was parked and two teenagers were rushing to watch the spectacle.

Orochimaru gripped Sasuke's shoulder. "I think I'm _better_ _suited_ for this task."

A tall man in black spandex, a green scarf and an orange mask stumbled awkwardly to the scene. "I'm here! Did you start without me?"

"Tobi," Deidara grumbled, his voice resigned. The orange-masked man turned his head immediately. "Yes, Deidara-senpai?"

The blond sucked air through his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist, turning away.

"These six are guilty of loitering, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and escaping from jail, and the other two are guilty of obstructing justice, harboring fugitives, and numerous other crimes, Madara-sama."

The tall man clucked. "You haven't been very good, have you?" His tone suddenly grew more serious. "Thank you, Kisame-kun. Now, what _will_ I do with you all?"

Hinata gasped and fainted, falling backwards. Shino turned around and stared stupidly for a moment before attempting to catch her and failing; Naruto jumped forward; Sakura started and yelled, "Hinata-chan!"

The Hyuga let out a strangled scream as she saw her life flash past her eyes. Would she really die at the young age of sixteen? There were so many things she should have done differently—been nicer to Hanabi, make Neji feel better about himself, patched things up with Ino…

_Told Kiba what I really…what I _really_…_

Hinata didn't have an opportunity to finish the thought, because her fall was broken by a warm, living body. The breath was knocked out of her, and if pain-filled grunt of the person below her was anything to go by, it was the same for him.

Hinata looked up to see herself in the lap of an embarrassed, grinning, slightly bruised and very shocked Inuzuka Kiba.

"Hi," she said breathlessly.

"Ow," he answered.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura shouted, leaning out the window and waving to her friend. Immediately, Kisame jumped to apprehend her, but Tobi—Madara—_whoever_—raised his hand. Pein turned his gaze to the taller man, his expression as calm as ever.

"You're an Inuzuka," Madara said, looking down at Kiba. Hinata suddenly remembered where she was and blushed profusely, rushing to get off Kiba's lap. Kiba looked up at the man.

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Your sister owns the veterinary clinic."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed; Naruto turned around to face Madara. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Nothing," Madara answered smoothly.

Ino set her lips into a thin line. "All they need is a parent to pick them up! Is it really such a big deal just to let them go…Madara-sama?"

The man strode around for a brief moment before turning his eye suddenly to Lee. The boy bit his lip nervously but straightened his back.

"Those…those leg warmers!"

The man's voice had risen. Lee looked at him like Neji did when cornered by fangirls.

"I _love_ that color! And…the green…with the orange…that's great!"

An uncertain smile settled on Lee's face. "Gai-sensei believes them to be the colors of true youth."

"Tobi!" Deidara snapped. The man faced the blond cheerily. "Yes, senpai?"

Lee's eyes lit up as Madara's sleeve stretched. "Is that…"

"Original 1980s spandex, imprinted with the seal of authenticity!" Tobi answered.

Deidara cursed. "Come on, Tobi, un. Don't do this to us!"

"That is very difficult to come by in this decade," Lee said, eyes wide. "Where did you find a proper supplier?"

"It's a family heirloom!" Tobi answered. "My…uh…well, I don't know. I found it in the attic!"

"Really? What family?"

Hinata could almost feel the flames of youth in the room. Sasuke promptly stomped on Lee's toe, eliciting a yelp.

"That wasn't very good," Tobi chided. "Zetsu-san wouldn't say you were a good boy."

"Hn," Sasuke said. "Can we go?"

Pein and Konan exchanged a look and sighed. "Very well," Pein said. "As it's your first offense—well, for _some of you_—(he glared at Naruto)—we will allow you to go. But be prepared to suffer consequences if such a thing ever occurs again."

With a sigh of relief, the group promptly began walking away, but not before Tobi called out, "Say hello to your brother for me, Sasuke-chan!"

The Uchiha gritted his teeth and shuffled away faster.

"I'll meet you outside, okay?" Naruto shouted out of the window, and ran after the group. Hinata nodded and stood up, dusting herself off nervously. Kiba scratched his cheek absentmindedly.

"What the heck happened?"

Hinata started a little at his voice and began fidgeting absentmindedly. "Uh…w-well…Sasuke-kun and N-Naruto got in a f-fight, so we g-got arrested…and then S-Shino-kun smuggled Shikamaru-kun in i-inside his coat, and then Shino-kun a-and I r-ran into the guy that r-runs—"

"Wait!" Kiba said suddenly. "Shino…smuggled someone in…inside his coat?"

"Yeah."

"Does he wear anything…y'know…under it?"

Hinata looked at him incredulously. "W-well…yes." She paused for a moment. "H-he's your b-best friend. Sh…shouldn't you know t-that?"

"He's never taken it off in front of me." Kiba snorted in shock and ran a hand through his hair. "Woah."

"O-oh." Hinata fidgeted for a moment as the awkward silence stretched on further. "Well…I'm really s-sorry for l-landing on y-you…are y-you hurt?"

"Uh, I'm fine," he said. He looked around for a moment and placed a hand in his jacket pocket. "Crap! Ino has my keys." He paused for a moment and looked around. "How did you get here?"

"N-Neji-nii-san dropped m-me off," Hinata said. "Oh! I s-should call h-him…"

Kiba chuckled. "You _really_ need to learn to drive, Nana-chan."

Hinata stopped in the middle of dialing her cell phone and cast her eyes downward at the nickname. It seemed like forever since she'd heard it…

"I c-can drive," she finally said. "R-remember? The f-first day at t-the clinic?"

"That?" Kiba said, laughing. "A snail could have passed you!"

Hinata bit her lip. "W-well, I g-guess I c-could beg N-Neji to t-teach m-me…if it w-was really that n-necessary…"

Kiba snorted. "That would take forever." He paused. "Hey, how about I teach you? My mom wouldn't mind if you came over, I mean. And it would really help," he added.

Hinata watched him carefully for a moment. The rational and usually dominant part of her mind was screaming for her to refuse, but, well…she saw Kiba at work, didn't she? That didn't result in anything, usually, did it? And she liked Kiba, honestly; she didn't know the specifics of that, but she knew that she didn't want them to stop being friends…

"Sure," she said quietly. She turned away before she could see him smile and muttered, "We should meet up with the others now."

"Yeah," Kiba said. "Let's go."

**

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**

Review?


	13. Driving Lessons

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**A/N: Really late. So sorry! D: I've been busy, and having computer issues, and sick...not a good mix. Hopefully updates will be a little more timely now.**

* * *

"You made it," Kiba said, smiling. Hinata dusted off her pants and straightened her jacket, blushing. "Y-yeah. I'm sorry I was late."

"It's okay," Kiba answered, shrugging. "It must have been hard to get out from under Neji and your dad."

"Yeah," Hinata muttered. It hadn't really ended up being that difficult, actually. Even though it was a Sunday, her father had been working; Hanabi was at a karate tournament, and Neji had disappeared. The housekeeper and the maids had left early, so she had the house to herself. Hinata stifled a sad laugh. Hiashi would never leave Hanabi home alone; sometimes being the less-favored child had its advantages.

"Okay," Kiba said, opening the right door and motioning for Hinata to come in. He was on the left with the keys, which he handed to her when she got in. Hinata gulped. She hadn't realized it as much before, but Kiba's truck was tall. It made her slightly dizzy to be this far off the ground.

"Drive," Kiba ordered, and Hinata looked at him, surprised. Kiba shrugged. "It's how my sister taught me. Drive, and I'll tell you what you're doing wrong. You know enough for that, right?"

Hinata bit her lip. "Um, y-yeah. O-okay." She placed the key in the ignition and turned clockwise, taking in a sharp breath as the car started. Her foot was already on the acceleration pedal; she turned the gearshift back to reverse and pressed the pedal.

The car didn't go anywhere.

"Harder," Kiba advised. Hinata applied more pressure. The car shot out of Kiba's driveway; Hinata immediately let it up and stamped the brakes.

"Not that hard," Kiba said. Hinata turned and looked at him, shaking her head. "T-that's not very g-good advice, Kiba-kun."

Kiba laughed and waved at the road. "Why don't you just drive?"

Hinata giggled and adjusted the gearshift again so she would go forward, keeping a steady if very slow pace up Kiba's street. Kiba nodded. "Okay, good. But—" he leaned over, "You need to keep your hands here—and here."

Blood rushed to Hinata's face as Kiba moved her hands to the correct positions. His long, shaggy hair tickled the bottom of her chin; she didn't even realize that they had come to a stop. Kiba usually smelled like dog, but today it was more like…fruit. Hinata wondered, embarrassed, if he'd shampooed his hair to impress her.

"That's right," he said, straightening up again and breaking Hinata out of her thoughts. "Now, just try to go to the end of the street and turn the cul-de-sac."

Hinata managed the feat, but absentmindedly. Kiba struck up a mostly one-sided conversation as he instructed her on turning.

"Akamaru had to get a few more shots yesterday, after you left. He usually causes a huge ruckus, so I had to pat his head the whole time. It was cute when he was little, but now ne-chan would kill me if he rampaged through her exam room." He paused, watching Hinata concentrate on making the turn to the main street of his subdivision. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly so that they bent downwards, like Neji's—except on her, it was kind of cute.

"Good job, but remember to hit your indicator," Kiba said. "Can you turn onto the next street? The one with the ice cream parlor on it?"

"S-sure," Hinata said, taking a deep breath and going onwards. Kiba leaned back in his seat.

"Did you get that assignment from Iruka-sensei, the one about genetics? I don't have the notes for that…" He scratched his head ashamedly—"I…kind of lost them. Could I borrow yours?"

"Sure," Hinata said, eyes never leaving the road. "The ones f-from last T-Thursday?"

"Yeah," he said. After a pause, he spoke again. "Hey…do you know what's going on with Kurenai-sensei?"

Hinata blinked. "I s-saw her l-last Saturday…she seemed f-fine." A blush crept up onto her face. That was the day Naruto had called her at the movie theater. "W-why?"

"I overheard her talking to Anko-sensei in the teachers' lounge. She seemed worried about something. And—get this—_she was wearing a ring_."

Hinata turned her head, surprised. "R-really? Like, a w-wedding r-ring?"

"Engagement, I think," Kiba said. "It was on her right hand…but I'm not sure which is which. Anyway, who d'you think gave it to her? I'm betting on Asuma-sensei, personally…"

Hinata gulped. Would she even be in Konoha to go to Kurenai-sensei's wedding, if she was having one? Or would she be in Suna, at the Academy, studying at the true stature of a Hyuga heir?

"Though it might be Kakashi-sensei…but that would be kind of weird. I wonder if, when Kakashi-sensei gets married, he'll take off his mask. It would be nice to see his face, _finally_, but what if he's missing half his mouth or something? Although, honestly, that would be kind of cool, having a scar—"

"I-I'm l-l-leaving," Hinata said quietly. Kiba turned, surprised.

"What? I…I'm sorry if I was grossing you out with the whole thing about sensei's mask…why do you have to—?"

"I…I'm not l-leaving r-right n-now," Hinata muttered. "I'm…g-going t-to another s-school. In S-Suna."

Kiba turned around to face her fully. "What?! You…you mean you won't be at Konoha High anymore? And…you won't be living here either? And you won't be working at the clinic, or—or—" He gathered himself and sighed. "Why…why now?"

Hinata shrugged. "Otou-san d-decided that I w-was g-good enough. All the H-Hyuga h-heirs w-went t-there." She managed a forced smile.

Kiba clapped her on the back and Hinata let out a small squeak, surprised. He smiled more widely than usual. "That's great, ne, Nana-chan? Maybe it'll patch things up with your family, too."

Hinata nodded, not meeting Kiba's eyes because she knew she would be able to see his lie there. "Yeah."

"So, why don't you go down to the ice cream parlor? I'll buy you something," Kiba said. "When exactly are you skipping town?"

"You m-make me s-sound like a criminal," Hinata said, giggling. "…I don't know. The n-next semester at S-Suna Academy starts in a few weeks—but I don't think he'll s-send me off that quickly," she finished. They both fell silent as Hinata gritted her teeth, trying to park the oversized truck in the narrow space in front of the ice cream shop. After several tries, she managed to succeed, and she and Kiba got out of the car.

"So, Naruto knows, right?"

Hinata flushed red—leave it to Kiba to make the subject of her school switch even more uncomfortable. She looked down at the gravel and trash that littered the parking lot before answering. "N-no, he d-doesn't," she admitted.

"What about Sakura? And…Ino?"

Hinata bit her lip. Kiba was going three for three. It made her feel guilty; she really did have to talk to Ino. "No."

"Oh," Kiba said, opening the door for Hinata as they walked into the parlor. It made a faint ringing noise. "Then…why did you tell me?"

Hinata offered her companion a false smile as she stood in the line to get ice cream. "Well, I had to start somewhere."

The parlor was relatively empty; the four people ahead of Kiba and Hinata were served quickly. Hinata gulped as she stuttered out her order—she had never been good at this. "O-one v-vanilla ice cream, i-in a c-cup, p-please," she managed to get out. The woman nodded, scooped out the order, and handed it to Hinata. "And you?"

"Triple chocolate fudge in a waffle cone," Kiba said. The woman raised an eyebrow and scooped the three lumps onto the oversized cone. "That'll be 1500 yen."

Kiba attempted to keep his cone balanced as he rummaged into his pants to locate his wallet. Hinata quickly dived for her own, but Kiba came up with the sum in time and barred her from paying. They took a seat at one of the booths, and Hinata picked up her spoon and began to neatly eat her ice cream.

"Don't do that," Kiba said suddenly. Hinata looked up, surprised. Were her table manners bothering him? She did have to admit it could be annoying to watch someone eat that carefully. Kiba did strike her as the type who wouldn't like her uppity manners. She looked at her ice cream, wondering how she would eat it without upsetting her companion. "S-sorry," she said quickly.

Kiba looked at her carefully. "You're not even going to ask for what?"

Hinata sighed in relief and continued eating her ice cream with dainty table manners. So he _wasn't_ that nitpicky. "What?"

"Deflecting a personal question with a joke," he answered. "I asked you why you told me before anyone else, and you didn't give me a proper answer."

Hinata swallowed and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "O-oh," she said. "I-I'm sorry." She shrugged. "I…I guess you're the f-first person I-I've been alone w-with since I f-found out."

Kiba mused over that for a moment and then laughed. "See, Nana-chan? That wasn't that hard. No need to get introverted and broody like Uchiha."

Hinata giggled and they continued eating.

* * *

"Onesan…one_sama,_" Hanabi called through Hinata's door, with undisguised annoyance. "Otou-san is coming down to see you."

Hinata's stomach flipped as she saved the document she had been working on and shut off her computer. Hiashi, coming down to see _her_? She doubted that this could be good—maybe he had decided to punish her for the mall incident? She had already confessed to her father, but he might have decided to punish her now…

_Or maybe,_ she thought, chiding herself, _he just wants to talk_.

Quickly, she ran a brush through her hair and fixed her clothing to make it a little more acceptable. When she heard the polite yet authoritative rap on her door, she started a little and called out quietly, standing up. "C-come in, otou-san."

Hiashi nodded his head at her as she bowed to him deeply. "Hinata…how are you doing?"

"Well, otou-san. H-how are you?" Hinata tried to prevent her nervous stutter. Her father had never approved of that.

"Fine," Hiashi replied. "I would like Hanabi or one of the servants to measure you for your Suna Academy uniform." He paused and looked her in her white, pupil-less eyes. "You are going, right?"

"Of c-course, otou-san," Hinata said softly, dropping her gaze to study her fingernails. "When will I be l-leaving?"

"At the start of the semester," Hiashi said. "I will contact Tsunade-sama so that she can have you withdrawn from Konoha High School and have your papers put in order." He remained quiet for a few seconds, as if conflicted, and then offered Hinata a thin, awkward smile.

"Would you like to have your friends over for a farewell party next weekend?" He raised his eyebrows and widened his smile.

Hinata gasped slightly and blushed. "T-thank y-you, o-otou-san. T-that…it w-would be w-wonderful," she managed to get out.

Hiashi nodded curtly and moved as if to walk out. Hinata began to bow, but he stopped and turned suddenly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata," he said somberly, "This is for your own good."

"I k-know, otou-san," Hinata whispered. Hiashi nodded and left the room.

* * *

"So…you're going to leave?" Sakura asked, eyes wide. Hinata nodded, looking down and regretting her decision to announce the move to all of her friends during lunch period. Many curious students had crowded around her table when they overheard, and she was feeling self-conscious.

Naruto placed both of his hands on Hinata's shoulders and grinned sadly. "Aww, Hinata-chan…d'you have to go?"

Ino seemed shaken, more than anything, by the knowledge. She leaned over her gave Hinata a one-armed hug. "I'm going to miss you," she said.

"I-I'm having a p-party…f-farewell, I g-guess," Hinata began, "S-Saturday. C-can you guys come?"

"Sure," Sakura said. "I'll cancel everything."

Hinata looked up, surprised. "You don't—"

"Come on, Nana-chan," Kiba said. Hinata looked up to see him holding his tray of food, smiling awkwardly. "Every one of us would rather be there than anywhere else, anyway."

Hinata blushed. "T-thanks, Kiba-kun."

"_And_ I'm going to force Sasuke to come, too," Naruto said, grinning somewhat evilly.

Sakura stood up and placed her hands on Hinata's shoulders. "You know what? You shouldn't have to deal with this. _We_—" she gestured wildly around to everyone, "are going to do it for you. You should just enjoy the time you have left, ne?"

"Stop making it sound like she's dying," Ino said. Sakura rolled her eyes.

Hinata managed to smile.


End file.
